Dusk
by Sarana Ishtar
Summary: AU OC. Sarana Johnsson travels to Egypt to visit her archeologist father, and becomes tangled in a web of ancient history, secrets, magic, and even romance when she uncovers her connection to ancient Egypt, and especially to a certain pharaoh...
1. Prologue: For the One I Love

Prologue: For the One I love

I gaze warily but wearily at my opponent, whose teeth are exposed in an evil, feral grin. It is the smile of one who enjoys torturing and brutally killing, the smile of the murderously insane. I say nothing as my Life Points drain away, but make sure to keep my eyes staring into his own. If he's going to kill me, he's going to do it while looking me in the eye.

I did this for the one I love. If he had gone in my place and lost, the world would have had no meaning for me.

They say that love is so powerful that one would give their life to protect the one they love.

I finally understand. However, love isn't just about giving your life for someone you love; that's only a small part of it. Love means to endure everything, through thick and thin, for better or for worse, through pain, hardships, maybe even death, and come out still together. That's what love is: not ever giving up, no matter what, if only for the one you love, until the very end.

The thought makes me smile as I fall to my knees as my opponent points his rod at me, to sacrifice my soul to the shadows…


	2. One: A Visit to Egypt

**Here it is! Chapter 1! I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! IT is the property of Kazuki Takahashi/Shonen Jump. I do, however, own Sarana.**

Chapter One: A Visit to Egypt 

"Sara, you don't have to go," my mother said for the hundredth time.

I turned my head to face her. "I want to."

This conversation had actually started several weeks ago, when my dad – my mom's divorced husband whom I hadn't seen in twelve years – sent us a letter inviting me to come visit him. The one thing was…he lived in Cairo, Egypt, where he worked as an archeologist. That was partly why he left: he kept leaving on some important adventure at some random dig in the world, and wasn't really at home for my mom or me. So, Mom put her foot down and divorced him. He stayed in Cairo, and we moved to South Carolina, in a little town called Clayton, where my mom grew up.

Then came this letter, which was weird because Dad had _never_ sent anything to us, not after he sent us an ancient Egyptian jar that Mom sent back to prove just how she felt about his obsession.

What my mom _didn't_ know, however, was that there was something else in that package that Dad had sent me, something I had cherished since then: a Duel Monsters deck. The cards were pressing against my thigh in my pocket at this very moment.

"Mom," I said firmly, "I know Dad neglected us, but I still love him, and so I _want_ to visit him. Besides, it will be kind of fun: pyramids, artifacts, mummies – Mom!" She had winced at the last word.

"Yes, it will be fun, but…What if he forgets to get you things to eat, and leaves you alone at his apartment all day, and doesn't take you anywhere?"

"Mom, we'll be fine. If he forgets about dinner, I have money. And he lives a couple blocks from the Cairo Museum, so I don't think I'll be that bored. Besides, he enrolled me in an English-speaking school, so that will occupy most of the time. He also promised to give me a tour of the dig."

"Oh honey, you're up next." Mom pushed me through the airport line. We quickly got my bags on, and then it was time for the long security process.

Twenty minutes later, that was done, and I was giving my mom a good-bye hug before I through the gate.

"I'll send e-mails every week Mom, I promise," I vowed. She wiped her damp cheeks and bid me farewell. I gave her one last wave before I left on my adventure.

The plane ride was long, and I mean _really_ long. The first leg of the trip was a twenty hour flight to an airport not far from Marrakech, Morocco. Good thing I brought a good selection of books, and a Nintendo DS. I had read through most of my Harry Potter books and had re-beaten almost all of the games at my disposal by the time the plane landed.

That aside, the plane finally landed in Marrakech, and I stumbled, half-asleep and getting use to _walking_, through security once again, and made my way to a plane that was headed for Alexandria, Egypt, where hopefully Dad was waiting.

This trip was much shorter – four and a half hours – but my legs were still numb by the time it was over. After yet another round of security, I made to the lobby. Mom had told me to look for my Dad holding a sign with my name on it, but I saw no such thing, so I sat on a bench and admired the walls.

They were designed to look like the walls of an ancient Egyptian palace. They were made of tan stone, with ancient decorations and hieroglyphics. I had absolutely no idea what they said, so I made a mental note to ask Dad if he could read them.

Suddenly, I had a compulsion to look up, and I saw a man with deeply tanned skin, holding up a sign with my name on it: Sara.

"Dad!" I called, standing and loping to his side. After a moment of surprise, his face broke into a delighted grin.

"Sara! So good to see you again!" He exclaimed, ruffling my hair. "The last time I saw you, you were being potty-trained!"

"Very nice," I said dryly, "how long were you waiting?"

"Only a few minutes, don't worry," he assured me, "I've got so many exciting things planned for us! We can see…" He suddenly stopped. "I noticed that when your mother sent back the vase, your cards weren't in the package. Did you keep them?"

I smiled and pulled out my deck. "I look at them every day and think of you," I said quietly, "Except I never learned how to play the game."

"Well, that just fine, every other kid here plays the game," Dad said cheerily, "Did you know that the game originated in ancient Egypt?"

"Really?" This was interesting. "Um, shouldn't we be going? We can talk on the way," I quickly added.

"No problem," Dad replied easily.

A few minutes later, we were in Dad's pickup on a highway headed for Cairo.

"So how do you know Duel Monsters originated in ancient Egypt?" I asked.

"About a year before you were born, we discovered another pharaoh's tomb, and hieroglyphics on the walls that were depicting the great deeds of his life showed him battling his servants with monsters that were sealed in stone slabs. Couple of months later, a certain man by the name of Maximilian Pegasus remade the sport into a simple card game so that kids around the world could enjoy the dangerous game in a simple, safe way."

"Do you know the pharaoh's name?" I was curious.

"That's a mystery, we saw on one of the last walls the image of the pharaoh battling one his opponents. His name had been on a cartouche on that wall, but it was scratched off. It was almost like someone didn't _want_ us to know the name of the pharaoh. The other thing is," he added, "There was no mummy."

"No mummy?"

"Not even a trace of one. It was an empty tomb, which makes us wonder if it was prepared for a pharaoh and never used."

"Sounds like a mystery, all right," I agreed.

"There was something else, however, that caught our attention," Dad suddenly said, "There was a whole wall of hieroglyphics depicting one of the pharaoh's servants. The writing explained that she was one of his greatest friends, and stood by his side through all wars and conquests until she was killed trying to protect him."

"Did it say how?"

"That's another mystery, we don't understand it. The writing mentioned a 'Shadow Game' and that she lost and had her soul sacrificed to the darkness."

"Wait…do you say _she_?"

"Yes, and her name was _Sarana_." He turned his head and grinned at me.

Sarana is my actual name, but I my mom had always referred to me as Sara, as well as everyone else in my neighborhood and at school. Now I understood why: it was something that had reminded her of Dad.

It felt kind of nice to know that I was named after a nameless pharaoh's great servant.

"Speaking of hieroglyphics, Dad, did you see the ones at the airport?"

"I did, as a matter of fact, and they told the story of King Tut." He grinned again. I couldn't help but grin, as well.

Ten minutes later, we parked in front of a dig.

"I thought you might like to see where I work real quickly, before we go to my apartment," he explained.

"Sure," I said enthusiastically, and he grinned again.

We stepped out of the car and made our way across the dig. There were archeologists digging into the ground with small trowels, brushing dirt off artifacts stubbornly stuck in the ground, and examining newly dug out jars, weapons, and tools.

"Robert!" someone called, and we turned to see a tall man with long silvery hair, wearing khaki pants and shirt and a wide-brimmed hat, striding towards us in a confident manner.

"Pegasus!" The two men shook hands, and Dad introduced me. "This is my daughter Sarana, or Sara, who I was telling you about the other day. Sarana, this is Mr. Pegasus, head archeologist and creator of the modern card game Duel Monsters."

Pegasus gazed down at me with a friendly smile. "Ah, so the lovely Sarana has finally arrived. Your father was quite chatty about you when he knew you were coming." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dad blush. "He mentioned that you have a deck…?" He didn't need to finish his question for me to know what he wanted.

"Yes I do, Mr. Pegasus," I pulled my deck out of my pocket and showed it to him. "Only I never learned how to play…"

"Not a problem! Everyone here knows how to play, so I'm sure that anyone would be willing to teach you!"

"Speaking of which, Mr. Pegasus," Dad interrupted, "I was hoping that we could show my daughter the stone with her namesake…"

"But of course! It's this way." Pegasus turned and motioned to us to follow. He led us into a tent on the other side of the dig.

"Here it is! The stone tablet depicting the mighty Sarana!" Pegasus announced.

I studied the stone. The woman on the stone was very beautiful, I decided. She stared to the right in the same style as ancient hieroglyphics I had seen pictures of. In front of her was some kind of long-bodied red dragon spewing lightning. Behind her was what I assumed to be the pharaoh because of the clothes he was dressed in.

To her right was a much darker image: a man dressed all in black who had summoned a horrible creature which bared its fangs at the pair.

"The hieroglyphics say that Sarana loved the pharaoh more than anything," Pegasus explained quietly, "And he cared for her, too. However, when this pair of fiends," he indicated the pair on the right, "attacked Egypt with a lust for power, they demanded that the pharaoh face them in a 'Shadow Game,' or so they say. Sarana, in her love, refused to let the pharaoh be harmed, and offered herself in his place. The evil pair agreed, and she battled them with her dragon, believed by many of the archeologists to be a form of the heaven god Osiris.

"When the pharaoh learned about her sacrifice, he attempted to find and rescue her, because the battle was held in a secret place, but by the time he found them, it was too late. Sarana had already lost her soul to the shadows. Impassioned and deeply upset, the pharaoh also battled the pair, and this time the force of Sarana's love for him augmented his for her, and he was successful, but because Sarana would not have killed them, he held fast to her memory, and he sealed the beasts into his…" Pegasus frowned. "We are not sure what it means here, but it is said that they were sealed into the 'Millennium Puzzle.'" He pointed to a pendant around the pharaoh's neck. "We believe that the hieroglyphics mean the pendant he wears." He turned to look at me.

"Something happened then, because this is the last mention of the pharaoh. The rest of the hieroglyphics describe the mourning for his death, but there is not a mention of a death anywhere, except for a wall in which everything was mysteriously rubbed away." He frowned again. "But everything else is in perfect shape. We only know that it mentions a death because of one very faint mark that translates into 'death.'"

"Wow," I commented, "That's a really big mystery. I wish there was something I could do to help…"

"Not really," Pegasus admitted, and then he looked at his watch. "Oh, my goodness, look at the time! It's just about time to finish work for the day!" He rushed out of the tent.

Dad put a hand on my shoulder. "We should be going, too," he said, "There's a nice Mexican restaurant by the apartment. I thought you might like it."

I couldn't help but laugh. A Mexican restaurant in Egypt? I'm sorry, but it sounded really funny. "It sounds awesome, Dad."

He smiled. "I knew it would be a good idea to invite you to stay with me."

"Really good Mexican food," I commented as we left the restaurant.

"Yeah, I enjoyed it too," Dad agreed, "So, you ready to see where you'll be living?"

"Sure."

_Cut to the apartment…_

"Wow…" was all I could say as I studied my room.

Three out of four walls were colored a rich brown. On the fourth wall, however, was an enlarged image of the stone that I had observed earlier, the colors made much brighter than the millennia-old stone. There was a queen-sized bed with a thick tan comforter and two fluffy pillows. There was a bedside table on either side of the bed, each topped with a lamp. A dark-brown dresser stood by a wall. The whole place was wonderful.

"Dad, it's…it's _great_!" I said with feeling.

"I hoped you would like it," Dad grinned. "I, uh…I'll let you unpack." He left me to appreciate the room

Without hesitation, I put my bags down and made a running start at the bed. With a "Whoop!" I leapt towards it and landed with a soft _thump_. It was indeed a very very soft bed, I decided. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out an iPod, and listened to it until I felt tired enough to slink into pajamas and crawl into the bed. Within moments, I had fallen asleep, but the rest was disturbed by dreams of darkness and battles with monsters and a woman falling to the floor just as the pharaoh burst in…

**The suspense has already begun to build...What is Sarana's destiny? Just keep reading! R&R please!**


	3. Two: The Pharaoh's Tomb

**Hooray for the awesomeness that is me. Enjoy Chapter 2 of Dusk!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I own Sarana**

Chapter Two: The Pharaoh's Tomb

"Hey Sarana, you up yet?"

I groaned and turned over onto my stomach and mumbled, "No."

Dad sighed. "Should've known you weren't a morning person. Guess that means you'll miss the special tour of the nameless pharaoh's tomb in an hour."

"Wha-?" I tumbled out of bed. "Tour, what?"

Dad laughed. "Yeah, the tomb's open for tours now, and you get free entry for the first one. Wanna get up now?"

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" I demanded rhetorically, shutting the door (he had opened it wake me up) and getting some clothes on.

"Wear a sweater; it's chilly in the crypt," my father said.

"Well, crap," I answered after digging through my suitcase. "I completely forgot one!"

"That's okay; I have one you can use."

"Dad, you're a life saver!"

An hour later, I stood in front of the tomb entrance with about thirty other excited tourists, in a burgundy hoodie borrowed from my dad, a T-shirt underneath, and jeans. My Duel Monsters deck was in my pocket again. Why, my father had said, would be explained later.

"Hey, it's Sarana, right?" a teenage male voice asked. I whirled and saw a short boy with the craziest hair ever. Blonde bangs framed violet eyes, and tufts of red and black hair stuck out in all directions.

"Yeah," I answered, slightly cautiously.

"I'm Yugi Muto," he introduced himself, holding out a hand to shake. "My grandfather is a member of the archeology team. Your dad told us quite a bit about you. Nice to meet you!"

"Uh, nice to meet you too," I said awkwardly, and shook his hand. Gosh, did Dad _have_ to be so incredibly excited about me coming that he _had_ to tell everyone about it?

"If everyone is ready, the tour is about to begin," said our guide, a perky woman with curly red hair pulled into a knot on top of her head.

"So, I'll see you around, okay?" Yugi said, with a grin.

"Okay," I answered, and with the other tourists, we walked into the tomb.

The air was chilly, damp, and stale; it felt and smelled like it had been trapped in this rock for over five thousand years. With a jolt, I realized that that might just be the case.

"When this tomb was first discovered, it was full of dangerous and testing traps," the guide said perkily, "However, we have managed to disable all of them, so you may proceed without fear.

"In this room, for instance," she continued as we entered a spacious room with a maze, the wall of which were just drops into an endless abyss, with stone statues holding sharp blades blocking the way every few feet, "Robbers and our archeologists had to tread carefully, with their left foot in front at all times, or else those statues would attack." She proceeded to explain how a statue created with its left foot forward was a sign of respect to their pharaoh. "In other words, we had to show submission and respect to the pharaoh of this tomb, or we would be punished. Thankfully, we built this bridge with a rail so that you won't have to deal with that danger." We crossed the bridge into the next room.

"And here," the guide said as we entered a room with a long narrow bridge with rectangular dents, "Visitors had to prove their courage by walking across the bridge lines with the monster _ka_ sealed in the stone slabs. If they were fearless, there was nothing special about this room. Cowards however were devoured by the monsters of darkness. However, we have removed the stone slabs, which are on display at the Cairo museum, and added a rail to the bridge for your safety.

"Here," the guide continued once we were across, pointing to a golden altar, "was where our team of archeologists discovered a box containing some sort of three-dimensional puzzle, which was solved by one of our team's grandson, and so the completed puzzle is also on display at the Cairo museum."

I glanced in Yugi's direction; he had said that his grandfather was an archeologist. To my surprise, he seemed different: some of his blonde bangs were sticking up with his red and black tufts, and his eyes seemed different…they were a little redder than before, and they seemed…ancient, filled with authority, as they gazed at the golden altar. Then they flicked back to me, and suddenly he was the Yugi from before, and he grinned shyly.

"Yeah, I solved it," he said, scratching his head sheepishly, "It took me like eight months to figure it out, I had to screw in some to make room for another piece, and yeah I won't give you details."

"That's okay, puzzles make me wanna fall asleep," I said, forcing a laugh. For a second, I had thought Yugi almost looked like that pharaoh on the stone from earlier. Now that I thought about it (and I was a little more awake), there _were_ some similarities. But in that last moment…he looked _exactly_ like the pharaoh.

Well, this was interesting…I had found a mystery of my own in this mystical land of mystery, and I intended to get to the bottom of it.

"So, how was it?" Dad asked as I stepped back into the blinding sun.

"It was really cool…literally," I joked, and he laughed. "But it was fascinating, really."

"Glad you liked it," Dad said happily, "You wanna see the stuff they removed and put on display at the museum?"

"That'd be awesome, but first, I need to ask you something." Dad was all ears. "You know Yugi Muto?"

"Sure, his grandfather's the one who cracked all the tomb codes, and Yugi solved the puzzle recently. Good kid," he added.

"Yeah, I think he's pretty nice too, but did you notice the distinct resemblance between him and the pharaoh?"

Dad was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I did,' he finally said, "It has all of us confused and boggled. Yugi's really confused too, because he has no Egyptian ancestry as far as he knows."

"It's a mystery," I agreed, "But earlier, towards the end of the tour…" I told my father the change I saw in Yugi at that brief moment. When I finished, Dad frowned.

"Hmm…my only guesses are that either you were tired and only thought you saw a difference, or…or there was some remnant of 'magic' in the tomb that caused you to see some illusion of Yugi. Either way, you may have just imagined it."

"Maybe you're right," I admitted, and let it go. I _knew_ that what I had seen was no illusion, but I knew better than to pursue this after my father's verdict.

The Cairo museum was _amazing_.

I headed straight for the items taken out of the tomb as soon as I paid for admission, to see if I could find any more clues. My first stop was the _ka_ in the stone slabs from tomb room #2, where I immediately found something interesting.

"That monster…it looks just like one in my deck!" I whipped my deck out and began flipping through the cards, until I found a match. Holding it up, I identified it as –

"The Dark Magician," Yugi finished, causing me to jump; I hadn't heard him coming. "I have it, too." He held it up for me to see. The art was different, but it was the same general thing. "This card has gotten me out of more fixes than I can count," he said proudly, stowing it in a card pouch on his belt. "What's your favorite card, Sarana?"

"Well… I've never actually played the game, so I can't say my favorite is the strongest," I admitted, "But I really like this one." I held it up for him.

"**Guardian Angel Joan**," Yugi read its name, "That's actually a very good card." He looked at up at me. "You've never played? How about I show you how?"

"Oh, you would? That would be awesome! Just lemme finish looking at this stuff, okay?" I suddenly felt excited. To finally learn Duel Monsters…wait. "My dad paid you to do this, didn't he?"

"No, he just asked me very nicely," Yugi winked. "Just let me know when you're done, I'll be hanging around." He walked off to look at some other doohickey.

I continued my examination of the stone slabs, and identified some like Swords of Revealing Light and Polymerization from my deck.

After a while, I was ready to learn, and I tracked Yugi down at the food court area with three other people: two boys, sandy-haired and one with hair focused to a point in front, the same color as very burnt toast, sharing a large pizza with the first boy, and a girl with shoulder length brown hair who watched them with affectionate blue eyes.

"I'm ready, Yugi," I said, with what I hoped was a friendly smile.

"'Oo's this, Yug?" the sandy-haired boy asked in between chews. "'Nother fan o' yours?"

"Fan?"

"It's nothing," Yugi said quickly, "Here, I'll show you how to play here." He sat on a different table than the other boys. "Oh, and these are my good friends Joey," he indicated the sandy-haired boy, "Tristan," the burnt-toast-haired boy, "and Tèa. This is Sarana, guys. Remember, the one Mr. Johnson mentioned?"

"Oh, _yeah_," Joey said with recognition, "The one that would be staying for a little while, right?"

"No idea how long I'll be staying, but I'm going to school here once summer lets up," I answered, "I think my parents may have switched primary custody."

Tèa's eyes widened, and the look she gave me was full of sympathy and pity, which really irked me. I shrugged. "It's not so bad, having divorced parents," I said, adding a touch of care-less-ness to hide my actual hurt at my parents' separation, "I mean, yeah there's a lot of government and custody and travelling crap, but it's okay, I guess." Tèa didn't look convinced, but she allowed her gaze to avert.

"So, before we begin, I want to have a look at your deck, so that I can help you a bit more," said Yugi, and I gave him my deck to flip through.

"Hmm…" was all Yugi said while he looked at my cards. "Very good balance of cards…interesting possible combos…sky-high attack point potential for this one…" he looked back up at me. "Your father assembled a pretty good deck. In the hands of an expert, it could wreak havoc in tournaments."

I smiled slightly at his compliments…but then my eyes widened.

Standing beside Yugi, also examining my deck, even if he was transparent and shadowy, was the strange older Yugi from before!

His lips were moving, but I couldn't hear anything he said. Yugi looked directly at him, but to the casual viewer he was just reading the tour schedule at the other side of the food court, wondering what time he should go. The other Yugi made eye contact with him, and something was exchanged between them that I couldn't hear.

Then they both looked in my direction, and the other Yugi disappeared quickly. "What, did a fly land in my hair?" Yugi asked with a grin.

"Uh, no," I said, shaking out of my reverie, "just thought I saw something…"

He handed my deck back with a smile, but his eyes watched me a little suspiciously. "So, before I actually teach you how to play, I should teach you about the types of cards there. The first kind is the Monster Card, your basic attack force…"

_Half an hour later…_

"…And the Field Spell cards alter the rules of the game by granting monster extra Attack or Defense Points or possibly a special ability," I finished, earning an approving nod from Yugi.

"Good, now that you know about the cards, you can learn about how the game is played. To start a turn, you draw one card…"

_Another twenty minutes later…_

"…and if the monsters' Attack Points are equal, they destroy each other and neither player loses a Life Point," I concluded, ending Yugi's quiz.

"Very good, you're a quick learner," he said approvingly, "Now we can try you out in a real duel…"

"_Yugi_!"

A really tall, skinny teen walked up to us, wearing black skin-tight pants, shirt, a long white coat that flared behind him, and an intimidating glare. I cringed away slightly.

"I hope you haven't forgotten our rematch tonight," he said in an intimidating voice.

"No, no, I haven't forgotten, Kaiba," Yugi said quickly, "At the Kaiba Dome, right?"

"At eight." Kaiba nodded and started to walk off.

"Wait, Kaiba!" Joey called after him, "You know it's rude to just walk off without introducing yourself to a lady?"

"I don't have time for such courtesies, Wheeler," he answered over his shoulder, but then he stopped and turned around, "Unless said lady is a possible competent duelist," he added, eyeing my deck.

I waved my hands frantically in front of my face, shouting, "No no! No new duelist here, no! At least I don't think so, no!"

Suddenly, Yugi put his hand on my shoulder with a _shh_. "Sarana's very good, Kaiba. She's the American champion! Possibly better than both of us put together!"

What the heck? What was he thinking?

Kaiba crossed his arms. "Really."

"Really!" Yugi insisted, "She could beat you, no problem!"

"Yugi, what are you doing?" I muttered out of the corner of my mouth.

"Really," Kaiba repeated, and he opened the suitcase he was carrying and pulled out some weird device thing and put it on his arm. "How about she proves it in a duel against me?"

"Sure, no problem," Yugi agreed, and he whipped out a similar device from underneath his chair, took my deck off the table, inserted it into a little slot thingimabobber, and handed it to me. "Monster space, spell and trap space, deck slot, graveyard slot," he whispered, indicating different parts of the thing, "It's a Duel Disk, and it's pretty amazing. Kaiba designed it himself."

"What does it do?" I whispered back, "And why are you shoving me into this?"

"You'll see," he answered, "And I think you can take him, you were learning so quickly." He turned me around by my shoulders and muttered, "Two more rules: Have fun…" his voice abruptly changed into something much deeper, not at all like his younger voice, "…And trust in the heart of the cards."

I turned my head and gasped slightly. It was _him_!

He winked at me, and he was Yugi again. He took his hands off my shoulders and pushed me slightly. "You can take him!"

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. No biggie." I put on the Duel Disk the way I saw Kaiba did, and stood to face him. "You don't look so tough," I taunted, trying to bolster my courage and steady the butterflies in my stomach.

"Look who's talking," he returned with a smirk. "Ladies first."

Looking down at my Disk and saw some red numbers zoom to 4000. Remembering that these were my Life Points, I took another deep breath.

"Right, okay. Drawing a card," I said, pulling one from the deck slot. I studied my hand for a moment, then made my move. "I play **Light Effigy** in Defense Mode." At once, a hologram of the card appeared, and a life-size hologram of the actual monster! "And I place these two cards face down." Two holograms of face down cards appeared at my feet. "That ends my turn. Your move, Kaiba…"

_Outside the duel…_

"Yugi, are you sure she can do this?" Joey asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I mean you just taught her how to play, and you put her against _Kaiba_," Tristan argued, "He's gonna cream her."

Then they really saw Yugi, only instead of him they saw their friend Yami, or the nameless pharaoh. And he was smiling as he watched Sarana duel.

"What's up? You look like you know something we don't…" Joey said cautiously.

"Because I do, Joey," Yami said conspiratorially.

"_Are you sure this was such a good idea_?" Yugi asked from beside him with their special way of communicating.

"_Yes Yugi, I have absolute faith in Sarana_," Yami thought back at him, "_I'm completely certain that she can do this_."

"_You know what happens if she can't._"

"_If she can't, I'll stop the duel_," Yami promised.

"_Kaiba won't be happy_," Yugi remarked.

"_Well, he has a rematch with us tonight, so he has nothing to complain about_."

**Sarana's first duel begins! Will she manage to trust in the heart of the cards? Keep reading! And PLEASE R&R!**


	4. Three: Heart of the Cards

**The conclusion to the duel! What are Yami and Yugi being so mysterious about? I'm not going to answer, just read and see for yourself!**

**Disclaimer: Do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, there would most certainly be no such thing as card games on motorcycles, and the pharaoh would have come back from the afterlife somehow. I do, however, own Sarana.**

Chapter Three: Heart of the Cards

_Back to the duel…Kaiba summoned __**X-Head Cannon**__ and laid one card face down, then Sarana played one more facedown card…_

"I activate my Trap Card **Ultimate Offering**," Kaiba declared, "By paying 500 Life Points per monster, I can Summon extra monsters, and I know just the two I need!" His Life Points dropped to 3000 as he played two more monsters. "**Y-Dragon Head** and **Z-Metal Tank**!"

As the monsters appeared, I felt a twinge of fear as they loomed over me.

"If you're really a champion, you'll know that these aren't ordinary monsters," Kaiba continued, "_They combine_!"

Before my very eyes, the three monsters separated and came together into one big terrifying machine with 2800 Attack Points!

I looked back at my hand and realized something. I whipped my head back to Kaiba. "It took you three monsters and 1000 Life Points to Summon that weakling? You're kidding, right?"

"Are you nuts?" Joey shouted at me, "His Monster has almost 3000 Attack Points and you're defending with a monster with no Defense Points!"

"There's more to power than just Attack Points, Joey," I heard the older Yugi say mysteriously, "Sarana knows what she's doing."

_That makes one of us_, I thought.

"**Ultimate XYZ-Dragon Cannon**! Attack!" Kaiba ordered.

"Trap Card!" I countered quickly, "**Threatening Roar**! This card prevents you from attacking on this turn!"

Kaiba scowled, but he canceled his attack. "My turn is over."

"All right!" I drew my next card. "You Summoned your cannon with a heavy price, but I shall bring forth my champion with very little cost!"

_Well that sounded corny_, I thought, but I plowed on anyway.

"I sacrifice my **Light Effigy**!" The effigy disappeared in a spiral of smoke. "And I Summon…**Guardian Angel Joan**!" A giant ball of light descended on the field and exploded. An angel with short red hair, a gleaming white dress, and golden wings appeared. She had 2800 Attack Points.

"How did she do that?" Joey demanded. "That's a Level 7 Monster!"

"It's simple, Joey," I explained, "**Light Effigy** has a special ability: if I sacrifice it to Summon a Level 7 or higher monster of LIGHT, it counts as two tributes."

"That's still not enough to beat his cannon," Joey groaned.

"Sarana's not done yet," Yugi reminded him. No, I was most certainly _not done_.

"I equip my **Guardian Angel Joan** with the Spell Card **Cestus of Dagla**!" Joan's hands suddenly held two rounded daggers. "This new weapon increases her Attack Points by 500!"

"But that means that she can destroy my cannon!" Kaiba protested.

"Very smart, Kaiba, did you figure that out by yourself?" I mocked. "Joan, attack!"

The angel flew at Kaiba's cannon and destroyed it with one slash of her daggers, reducing his Life Points to 2500.

"We're not done yet, Kaiba! Joan has two abilities! First, I gain Life Points equal to your cannon's attack Points!" my Points zoomed up to 6800. "Also, because of my **Cestus of Dagla** card, I gain the Life Points you lost!" I earned another 500, for a total of 7300 Points!

Wow, I really was kinda good at this!

_Outside the duel…_

"Holy cow! 7000 Life Points?" Joey's jaw dropped, "Are you sure this is her first duel, Yugi?"

"Absolutely certain," Yami answered. "_She's destined to be a champion, all right_," he commented to Yugi.

"_I just wonder why she's doing so well against _Kaiba_, I mean, he gives _us_ difficulty, but she's wiping the floor with him!"_

"_That's because Kaiba's been going easy on her,_" Yami explained, "_He didn't believe you when you said she was the American champion. Now he realizes that she is competent, and it won't be so easy for Sarana now._"

_Back to the duel…_

Kaiba faced me with loathing burning from his eyes. "My move," he muttered, drawing his card, "I bet you're thinking how _special_ you are, just how _awesome_ you are to have trumped me this time. But you haven't seen the worst of me! I place two cards facedown and Summon **Saggi the Dark Clown** in Defense Mode and end my turn." The creepy clown gazed at me with the one eye not hidden behind his massive hat.

"Oh no!" the other Yugi gasped, "I can't believe he's using _that combo_."

"Wait a minute…is that…?" Joey started to ask.

"I'm afraid it is," the other Yugi said grimly.

_It's what_? I wanted to know.

"If you're really a champion, you'll attack my clown," Kaiba taunted coolly. Well if that was how he was gonna be…

"I draw!" I rapped out. "**Joan**! Attack!"

"No!" Yugi shouted, but it was too late! The dark clown didn't stand a chance against the angel's daggers! In an explosion of pixels, **Saggi** was gone.

Once the dust cleared, Kaiba lowered his arm from shielding his eyes. "I can't believe you fell for that one, champ," he gloated, "Trap Card, activate! **Crush Card**!"

"**Crush Card**? What?" I didn't like the sound of that card!

"This card is activated when a DARK monster with less than 1000 Attack Points is destroyed," Kaiba explained mockingly, "It releases a virus that destroys all monsters in your deck, hand, and field with more than 1500 Attack Points!"

"Tch…" I looked down at my deck and sure enough, most of my monster cards were catapulting to the graveyard. With a gasp, **Guardian Angel Joan** collapsed and disappeared in a blast of smoke! "I lost almost half my deck!" I realized with horror.

"That's what happens when you mess with Seto Kaiba, owner of Kaiba Corporation!" Kaiba bragged in his cold voice. In a swift movement, he drew a card from his noticeably larger deck. "I activate my other facedown! **Magic Virus Cannon**! (no idea if that's its actual name…) This Spell Card destroys ten Spell Cards in your Deck!"

"Oh no!" I gasped," I only have ten Spell Cards!"

"Oh, yes!" Kaiba threw back, "Now say goodbye to them!"

Horrified, I watched helplessly, as all of my Spell Cards, including a **Mystical Space Typhoon** on the field, vanished and reappeared in the graveyard. That left me with nothing but weak monsters, Trap Cards, and only a few turns to try and win!

"If you think you've seen the worst of it then you thought wrong!" Kaiba continued, "I activate **Polymerization**!" He thrust the card high into the air, "And I know what _three_ monsters I want to fuse!"

"He can't do that!" Joey protested, "She's just …"

"A rookie who has never actually played before now?" Tristan finished, before he could stop himself.

Kaiba glanced at him. "I knew it before I even approached you nimrods that she couldn't duel to save her life." He looked back at me. "And here's the proof. Her deck wiped out, no monsters on her field, defending with only two Trap Cards. Now she will feel my full wrath!"

I could only watch in mute fear and anger as three gigantic white dragons appeared and merged together to create –

"My **Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon**!" Kaiba declared.

At this point, I took a moment to look around and saw that my public humiliation was going to be witnessed by a _lot_ of people. Whispers of, "Seto Kaiba…" "_Kaiba's here?_" "Why is he dueling a rookie? And a _girl_!" filled the room.

"**Ultimate Dragon**! Direct attack!" Kaiba roared.

The huge, three-headed dragon loomed over me, its three mouth opening, ready to blast away a huge chunk of my Life Points!

"Trap Card!" I defended, praying that it would slow him down. "**Ordeal of a Traveler**!"

"_What_?" Kaiba was astonished.

"This Trap Card stops your attack and returns your dragon to your hand unless you correctly guess what kind of card I'm holding!" I explained. I held one up for him to view. "Spell, Monster, Trap. You make the call."

Kaiba glared at the card in my hand while he figured it out. "It's not a Spell Card, because I destroyed all of them," he muttered to himself, "And it's most likely not a monster, either. Trap Card!" He shouted to me.

Flibbertegibbesnapperwidget. He was right. I flipped it so that he could see that he was correct. With a smirk, he continued his attack.

"Sarana!" Yugi and his friends shouted as I was engulfed in white lightning! Because it was a hologram, I felt no pain, but I still screamed as I was blinded by the sheer white light!

_Outside the duel_…

"Someone has to stop this match before Sarana gets hurt!" Tea cried.

"Kaiba won't stop it!" Tristan said in frustration, "All those times Yugi was in danger, and he didn't do anything! He's insane!"

"Sarana still has 2800 Life Points and a few cards," Yami observed. "There's still a chance she can turn this around."

"What, are you crazy?" Joey shouted," This is _Kaiba_ we're talkin' about!"

"_You're still sure of this_?" Yugi asked nervously.

"_Yugi_," Yami said, "_She can see me, when we're communicating. She feels my presence. If she can't do this, then I don't know who can!"_ his answer was so emphatic that it almost knocked Yugi over.

_Back to the duel…_

I fell to my knees as the lightning disappeared, panting and staring at my Duel Disk as my Life Points dropped all the way to 2800.

"This is what happens when rookies try to tell me that they're champs," Kaiba said with a smirk. "Now would be an excellent time to beg for mercy."

I stayed there on my knees. He was right; I _was_ foolish to even try and beat him…

"Don't give up, Sarana!" Joey shouted, but I only half-heard him. Other people called out to encourage me, but I was about to put my hand on top of my deck to surrender when –

"_Trust in the heart of the cards_," I remembered. I had no idea what Yugi had meant by that, but now, looking at my deck, I began to understand.

I whipped my head back to face Kaiba. "Who said anything about begging for mercy?" I countered, staggering to my feet. "I may not be a duelist yet, but I won't give up until I _am_ a champion!" I drew my card with a _swish_…and gasped in astonishment.

_Outside the duel_…

"_I think she's got it_," Yugi remarked to the pharaoh, and was surprised when the latter shook his head.

"_We will _know_ when she has it_," Yami insisted.

_Back to the duel_…

"I play my _Spell Card_ **Pot of Greed**!" I proclaimed proudly, "I can draw two cards!"

"_What_?" Kaiba was stunned, "But you said…"

"Well, obviously I was wrong, now wasn't I?" I countered, and drew one card. As I moved to draw the next, something weird happened. It was like a shockwave ran through me, from the card underneath my fingertips. There was this little pulse in my finger, but when I took my hand on the card it was gone. It was as if…the card was _alive_. After a moment's hesitation, I drew the living card.

It was one I had never seen before, but it looked really, _really_ familiar…

"Now_ she has it_," I heard the other Yugi say. Caught off guard, I turned back and saw Yugi in a ghostly form, and realized that now I could _hear_ them too.

"_Let's hope she can use it_," the real (?) Yugi said the other one.

"I Summon **Ray and Temperature** in Defense Mode!" I announced, "And I use your **Ultimate Offering**, paying 1000 Life Points to Summon **Barrier Statue of the Heavens** and **The Forgiving Maiden** in Defense Mode," one by one my monster appeared with their arms lifted in front of them to defend themselves and me at all costs. "Now I pay another 500 Life Points!" I had only 1300 Life Points left.

"What are you scheming?" Kaiba demanded.

"I sacrifice all three of my monsters!" Each monster became a red orb, which flew up into the ceiling! Suddenly, thunder clouds appeared where there should be none! Lightning crashed and thunder soared, shaking the museum! And out of the storm slithered a huge red dragon with buffeting wings, long, lethal teeth, and ginormous claws!

"_**Slifer the Sky Dragon**_!" I shouted as it descended upon the field to an impressive collective gasp of surprise from the audience.

Kaiba's reaction was easily the best. His mouth dropped wide open and his eyes practically popped. "How did you get that card?" He yelled hoarsely, "It's an Egyptian God Card, and the only one of its kind is Yugi's!" he pointed a quivering finger at Yugi. "_What have you done_?"

"I've proven that Sarana is a better duelist than you will ever be, Kaiba," the other Yugi answered in a calm voice.

"Really," Kaiba sneered, "Because if my memory is correct, **Slifer**'s power is determined by the number of cards in that owner's hand, and I see absolutely _none_ in Sarana's, which means that it has zero Attack Points! Should've thought farther ahead, rookie!"

With a gulp, I realized he was right. As mighty as it looked, Slifer wouldn't stand a chance against the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!

"Don't give up yet, Sarana!" I heard Joey encourage.

"We're all here with you!" Tea added.

I turned my head once again to face them. "You can do this!" Tristan shouted.

"Heart of the cards, Sarana," the other Yugi reminded me quietly, "Trust them."

I still didn't quite understand what he meant, but I gave him an acknowledging nod. The real Yugi stood beside him and gave me an answering nod.

Looking back around, I saw my two facedown cards, and I saw a plan that could turn this duel around!

"All right, Kaiba!" I said, "Give me your best shot!"

"With pleasure." Kaiba drew his card. "**Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon**! End this duel and destroy **Slifer**!"

The dragon opened its three mouths in preparation to obliterate me and Slifer!

"I won't let that happen!" I countered. "I activate my Trap Card! **Sakaretsu Armor**! This card instantly destroys an attacking monster…like your dragon!" a sword catapulted from the card and hurtled toward Kaiba's dragon.

"Not if I activate my Quick Play Spell Card **Mystical Space Typhoon**, you won't!" Kaiba played his card that would shatter my strategy unless –

"Trap Card! **Dust Tornado**!" The two whirlwinds collided and canceled each other out, allowing my first card to destroy the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!

_Outside the duel_…

Joey rubbed his eyes. "I did _not_ just see that. I did _not_ just see a rookie destroy the **Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon**…did I?"

"You did," Yami told him. "Kaiba still relies on power and brute strength to give him the victory, but Sarana has a deck that balances power and strategy to form devastating combos."

_Back to the duel_…

"My move!" I declared, moving to draw the final card in my deck. _This is my last chance_, I thought_, my last move to get Kaiba down to no Life Points._ As Yugi's friends sent more encouragement, I remembered once again what the mysterious other Yugi had said. _Heart of the cards…guide me_. And I drew my card as Slifer's power went up by one thousand.

"I Summon **Mudora**!" The muscular fairy swung his sword threateningly. "His special ability gives him 200 extra Attack Points for _every fairy in the graveyard_! I count sixteen, that that gives him 3200 more Attack Points, so he has a devastating 4700 Attack Points! More than enough to wipe out your Life Points!" Kaiba stared at me with wide, hating eyes. "Go, **Mudora**! Direct Attack on Kaiba!"

And in one slash, it was _game over_.

**Come on, the media can NOT ignore this happening. How will Sarana cope. Even more importantly, why is Yami so interested in Sarana? Keep reading, and R&R pretty please!**


	5. Four: Overnight Champion

**Sarana has suddenly gained recognition in five seconds! Moreover, Yami has decided to entrust her with his secret! How will she react? The answer might just surprise you...**

Chapter Four: Overnight Champion

Chaos erupted.

As Kaiba's Life Points zoomed to zero, suddenly, I was being mauled by a bunch of people. Who was I? they demanded, how had I become so good? How had I gotten my hands on one of Yugi's Egyptian God Cards?

Yugi suffered similarly. What did he see in the rookie? Why did he encourage her through the whole duel, and _why did he trust her with an Egyptian God Card_? That was a question that I wanted to hear the answer to.

Yugi, who was once again his real self, just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just wanted to see if she could use it."

As if the crowd wasn't bad enough, we had the _media_ coming for interviews. "We recorded the whole thing," the reporter told me enthusiastically, "You're holding a legendary Duel Disk, you know."

"I…I am?" I asked, glancing at it.

The reporter waved a hand impatiently. "That's Yugi Muto's Disk, and Yugi is the Duel Monsters _world champion_! What rock have you been living under?"

Wow…Really? "Uh, no rock," I answered, "I just started playing Duel Monsters today, and I had never heard about anyone in it before just now."

That brought a whole new round of questions: Where did I come from? Who taught me how to play? How was I able to become so good so quickly?

"She trusted in the heart of the cards," I heard Yugi answer for me, "That's why she won today." He tugged on my arm. "And we have to get going; Sarana's dad will be looking for her soon." And just like that, we were away from the mob and out in the fading sunlight.

"You rescued me," I said to him gratefully.

He gave me a half-smile. "I couldn't leave you alone to face those interviewers."

"Oh!" I slid his Duel Disk off my arm and gave it to him. "This is yours."

"Thanks." He put it on his own arm.

"Um, Yugi?" I asked tentatively; I just wanted to know. "Back there, the reporter called you a world champion. Was she right?"

He looked away from me at the setting sun. "Yes, I am the Duel Monsters champion and have been for three years…ever since I solved the Millennium Puzzle."

I gasped. "You mean…"

"Yeah." Yugi turned back to face me, and around his neck was the same pendant that was on the pharaoh on the stone tablet! "My grandfather read the writing on it, and it sad that whoever solved the Puzzle would become 'King of Games.' When I solved it…I became able to win at any game I play." He thought for a moment and said. "No, I lie. When I solved it, a spirit inhabited my body and _he_ is the true King of Games." The eye decorating the Puzzle gleamed, and it was the other Yugi that stood before me!

"My name is Yami," he told me quietly, "Five thousand years ago I had another name, but time has blotted it out of existence."

My hand flew to my heart. "Then you must be …!"

"Yes, I am the pharaoh depicted on that stone tablet. The tomb you visited today was to be mine at my death."

"Then why…?"

"I have no memory of my former life," Yami said, looking away, "All I know about my past is that once upon a time I was the pharaoh, and that somehow I stopped the murderous Shadow Games before they destroyed the world, but I only know these things from another, similar tablet. The only thing I remember is waking up inside of Yugi's heart when he solved the Millennium Puzzle…" He looked back at me.

"The similarities between you and the Sarana from the stone tablet have opened a whole new array of questions about my past with little answers: never before has anyone mentioned her, so why does she appear when you come here? Why has no one mentioned that there was someone I _loved_," he said it almost bitterly, "five thousand years ago, and that she gave her life to protect me?" He was silent for a moment, ten continued, "I pushed Yugi to arrange a duel between you and Kaiba, and to lend you **Slifer the Sky Dragon** because the other Sarana was shown fighting one of my rivals while using Slifer, and I wondered if the two of you might share a connection through the past…"

"I have no idea," I admitted, "I didn't feel any different while dueling, but every time I thought of you and what you said about the heart of the cards, I wasn't so afraid, and…well, yeah." I blushed slightly.

"So many unanswered questions…" Yami repeated to himself.

"Hey, rookie," said a new voice, and I turned to see Kaiba towering over me. No, really, the top of my head would barely scrape his chin. "Rematch. Tonight. After Yugi's. Be there." He walked loftily past us.

"Well that was an eloquent exchange of words," I said pleasantly. "Now I'll just have to let Dad know that – oh, _flibbertegibbesnapperwidget_!"

"What is it?" Yami seemed confused.

"How am I gonna tell him that I beat a champion in my first duel?" I started to freak out and hyperventilate.

"Breathe, Sarana breathe!" Yugi (Yami switched back quickly) begged, fanning air at me with his hands.

"Right…breathe…" I took several breaths and calmed down. Yugi looked slightly amused.

"You act totally calm when I tell you that my body has the soul of a five-thousand year old pharaoh inside of it, but you think about your dad and what he might say about his overnight champion daughter and you freak out?"

"He'll tell _everyone_ about it, and I'll never have a moment of peace ever again!" I moaned.

"I feel for you," Yugi sympathized, "When I beat Kaiba for the first time, there was quite a bit of hullabaloo and it took a while for everyone to get bored of me and the pharaoh."

"Yeah, speaking of which, is there anyone else who knows about…?"

"Well, there's you," Yugi counted on his fingers, "Then there's Joey, Tristan, Tea, my grandfather, Pegasus, and some other people you wouldn't know. Yup, only a few know of his existence." He leaned closer. "And I'd rather keep it that way, if you know what I mean."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul," I promised, "Now to break the news to Dad…"

_Twenty minutes later at Sarana's house…6pm_

"Hey, Sarana!" Dad greeted enthusiastically when I walked into the apartment. "You have fun today?"

"Yeah, the stuff there was really cool, and Yugi Muto taught me how to play Duel Monsters afterwards," I answered truthfully.

"Did he now? Wasn't that nice of him?" I could hear Dad's forced surprise in his voice. "So, you hungry? I got pizza!"

My stomach rumbled. I laughed. "Does that answer your question?"

Fifteen minutes later, full of pizza and getting slightly sleepy, I was curling into Dad's side while we sat on the couch for the news when I remembered something.

"Oh, Dad?"

"Yes, sweetie."

"Yugi's having a rematch with Kaiba tonight, and he asked if I wanted to come and watch. Is that okay?" It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either; he didn't need to know about _my _upcoming rematch.

"_Yugi and_ _Kaiba_? That's a duel any duelist would give their eyeteeth to watch! Sure you can go!"

"Thanks," I said, and snuggled closer into him when the screen blared _BREAKING NEWS!_

"This afternoon," the newscaster said, "Several hundred people witnessed an amazing event at the Cairo Museum: Seto Kaiba, the former Duel Monsters champion second only to the famous Yugi Muto, was defeated this afternoon by a young girl named Sarana Johnson, who arrived here in Egypt just yesterday. The duel was quite spectacular…" The TV showed some clips of our duel, including Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon, and my Guardian Angel Joan, "…but most interesting was that Sarana Summoned one of the ultra-powerful and ultra-rare Egyptian God Cards, namely **Slifer the Sky Dragon**." A clip of the red dragon entering the field was played. "Yugi was present at the duel and was actually the one to arrange it, and Sarana borrowed his Duel Disk for the occasion."

Dad stared at the me on the screen, and back at me with astonishment, while I stared on in horror, but the reporter wasn't done yet.

"I had a chance to talk to Sarana after the duel, and learned that until today she had never learned how to play the game Duel Monsters, which plenty of us highly doubt after what happened today, and that she had never even heard of Yugi Muto or Seto Kaiba. Speaking of which…" Kaiba entered the news room, "We have Mr. Seto Kaiba as our guest tonight. Tell us, Mr. Kaiba, why do you think you lost to a rookie this afternoon?"

"She was extremely lucky, obviously," Kaiba said dismissively, "Just drew the right thing at the right time and made halfway-decent moves. Having a regrettably good deck helps, too."

"Are you admitting that Sarana's deck was well-made?" the reporter asked interestedly.

"Yes, whoever created her deck knew what they were doing," Kaiba said coldly.

"Also, Mr. Kaiba, talk of this new arrival has installed rumors that she might just become the 'Queen of Games.' What do you think of this?"

"It's ridiculous, of course," Kaiba drawled, "Like I said, she was just extremely lucky today."

"Are you ever planning on dueling Sarana in the near future?" the reporter asked.

Kaiba snorted. "Of course! I already issued a challenge to her tonight after my duel with Yugi. She'll learn that no one, and I mean _no one_, makes a fool out of Seto Kaiba and gets away with it."

The reporter turned to face the viewers. "That was a very confident Seto Kaiba, coming to you live from Cairo News Station. We'll be back right after this commercial break."

Dad was…well…he was very surprised. "You did _what_?"

I fiddled with a lock of my black hair while I figured out how to best answer him. "Well, Kaiba came to Yugi after he taught me how to play, and Yugi made us duel, and I kinda…won…?" I looked sheepishly at him.

"You beat the second-best duelist _in the world_ in your first duel?" A grin spread across Dad's face. "So _that's _why you wanted to go tonight, to have a rematch!" He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hugged tightly. "Sarana, I'm so _proud_ of you! You're going to be an excellent duelist, I just know it!"

"Uh, thanks, now let's hope that I'm not flattened tonight," I mumbled, "It sounds like Kaiba means business now…"

**And since we all know and love Kaiba so much, he most certainly does mean business. How will Sarana fare in her rematch! Pretty obvious, but keep reading to find out! Please R&R!**


	6. Five: Friends

**The rematch begins! A little less action-packed than before, but please read and enjoy anyway!**

Chapter Five: Friends - _an hour and a half later…_

Dad's pickup pulled into the parking lot of the enormous KaibaCorp Dueling Dome, where I saw that Yugi was waiting at the entrance.

"Good luck, Sarana." Dad kissed the top of my head. "Show him who's the boss, and give me a play-by-play when you get home."

"Sure thing, Dad." I exited the car, slammed the door shut, and jogged over to where Yugi was.

"Hey, Sarana," he greeted.

"Y'know, you can just call me Sara," I informed him, "Everyone in America does. Well, okay, that was because my mom forbid me to use _Sarana_…"

"Why?" Yugi looked alarmed.

"She didn't want anything to remind her of my father," I said flatly, "She was enchanted by his obsession with Egypt when they were dating, so they fell in love and got married and had me two years later…but when Dad was suddenly away for long periods of time on some archeological find of the decade…well, for Mom the fantasy was over." I turned away, immersed in memories. "All I remember is that they had a really long and hard fight. I was only three at the time, but I remember hiding behind the couch. Mom's shouts…" I shook my head to clear away the nightmarish memory. "After screaming that my father won't have to deal with us burdens and can go dig in the sand as much as he wants, Mom packed our bags, and we left for South Carolina, where she grew up." I furiously blinked back tears and turned to look at Yugi.

"Three Christmases after that, my father sent us an excavated jar from one of the tombs his team searched. My mom sent it back, to show her continuing feelings for him. What she didn't know was that he also had sent me a Duel Monsters deck…" I pulled it out and gazed at the card on top, **Guardian Angel Joan**. "Somehow, whenever I was going through a hard time, all I had to do was think of these cards or even look at them, and I would feel stronger…"

"The heart of the cards was watching over you," Yugi said quietly, taking my hand. "My parents are dead," he added in a soft voice.

I gasped slightly. "Yugi, I didn't mean to – I shouldn't've thrown my problems on you, that was – that was so heartless of me - !"

"No, it's totally okay," Yugi assured me. "Nothing to worry about, I promise. Now," he let go of my hand, "Let's go and duel Kaiba!"

I watched his enthusiastic expression for a few seconds, and then nodded and smiled.

"Welcome to Kaiba Duel Dome," a female voice said coolly when we entered an elevator headed for the Sky Top Platform, when I remembered something!

"Oh! Yugi," I pulled out my deck and sifted through it until I found Slifer, "this is yours." I held it out to hm, but he shook his head.

"Keep it for now," he insisted, "You can give it back after your duel."

"But then Kaiba will think of me as a cheater who can't win without the help of an Egyptian God Card!" I protested.

"You have a point." Yugi scratched his head. Suddenly, Yami appeared beside him.

"_I want you to still have it_," he said firmly, "_I think it might help with this mystery of mine…"_ He vanished just as the elevator door reopened with Kaiba right in front of it, holding two Duel Disks, one of which he thrust into my hands.

"All duelists need one of these," he muttered. "I hope you're ready, Yugi," he said louder, "Because tonight you will experience your long-delayed fall from fame!" With a twirl of white coat, he turned and walked away.

"He says that every time," Yugi said with a grin, "But my 'fall from fame' has yet to happen." His Millennium Puzzle gleamed as he and Yami switched places.

"Well, this will be interesting," I commented, "I haven't seen you duel yet. Are you as good as everyone says?"

"You'll just have to see," Yami winked.

"Oh, and Yami? What do you mean when you say trust in the heart of the cards?"I asked curiously. "I mean, I guess I sort of know, but I don't, if that makes any sense."

He nodded in understanding. "They are the spirits of the cards, and they will serve one who trusts them well, but not as well someone who believes them only to be tools of violence and war. That's why you won this afternoon, because the heart of the cards believed you to be pure of heart and completely trusting in them. Kaiba, on the other hand, has never believed that cards have a mind of their own, and so he has never defeated anyone who _does_."

"I guess that makes sense…"

After that exchange, we made our way to the dueling arena. I gasped as I took it in.

The arena was huge, and I mean _huge_, at least the size of a football stadium! Tall bleachers covered the walls, and when I looked at the ceiling, I realized that it could open up to the sky. Lights and other special effects were everywhere. I realized that truly spectacular duels could take here. Who knew that anyone took Duel Monsters this seriously?

Kaiba was waiting for us in the monster of an arena, his Duel Disk already on his arm. "I'll be on the bleachers," I muttered to Yami, who nodded. I whispered, "Good luck," and I headed over to the bleachers and waited my turn to be creamed.

"Oh hey, Sarana," I heard Joey say as he, Tristan, and Tea sat down beside me, "You come to see the match, too?"

"Sort of, Kaiba demanded a rematch," I explained.

"Ah, that will nice to watch," Joey approved, "Kaiba losing three times in one day!"

Watching Yami and Kaiba duel was_ amazing_. It was as if they could read each other's minds and could anticipate their opponent's moves as soon as they knew it themselves. The special effects the dueling arena provided added a nice touch, too.

In the end, however, Yami finished with a triumphant direct attack with his **Dark Paladin**. I applauded quietly as the knight faded away and Yami silently switched back to Yugi.

"Nooo!" Kaiba moaned, falling to his knees, "Just wait, Yugi! I _will_ win one day, _just you wait_!" He shouted to Yugi.

Yugi shook his head in a "he'll never learn" kind of way, then beckoned for me to join him and Kaiba. "You ready to take your turn?" he asked.

_Nope_, I thought. "Let's duel," I said. I put on my Disk, inserted my deck, and activated it.

"This is for the humiliation you gave me today," Kaiba snarled as he stood and re-shuffled his deck. He inserted it and activated his Duel Disk. "If I win, you will tell the media tomorrow that the duel earlier was completely fraud and that you cheated the whole time."

"Deal," I agreed, a little nervous, "_I _win, and we both keep our mouths shut."

We both declared "_Duel_!" and our rematch began.

"**Vanity's Ruler**! Direct Attack!" I shouted, and ended the duel to Yugi and Co.'s cheers.

"I knew you could do it!" Yugi exclaimed delightedly.

"No sweat," Joey added. "Hehah, look at the look on Kaiba's face!" Indeed, Kaiba looked murderous. "_How d'you like them apples, Kaiba_?"

"Not a word," I reminded him, and walked away to where the others were waiting.

"You were awesome!" Tea informed me.

"Yeah, combining those two cards was an awesome defense!" Yugi raved.

"Uh, thanks," I muttered, grinning awkwardly, "So, um, I'll be seeing you guys." I started to walk away. Dad was probably waiting for me.

"Hey Sara, wait!" Yugi called after me, and I stopped. "We're hanging out tomorrow, you wanna join us?"

What? I turned.

"Yeah, you're our friend now," Joey explained, "And we're always together, so it only seems fair that you're with us too."

_Friend_…it took a moment for the word to register in my head. Back in South Carolina, there were only two people that I considered friends, but we went to different schools, and I rarely ever saw them. Sometimes I wondered if we were still friends.

"Uh, okay," I said with a small grin.

Yugi nodded and said, "We'll see you outside your apartment, then, at 10." I nodded with another smile, and walked away.

_When I wasn't looking…_

"Alright Yugi, what's the deal?" Joey demanded once Sarana was gone.

"What's what deal?" Yugi asked innocently.

"You like her, don't you?" Joey probed.

"She's a new friend, of course I do…" Yugi seemed confused.

"Not _that_ like, Yug, I mean as in like _like_," Joey said, exasperated.

"Oh," Yugi understood, "No, not that way. I'm just bringing out the duelist in her. She has all the marks of a champion, and I want her to understand that. I also just want to be her friend."

"_You're not telling the whole truth_," Yami said quietly from within his heart.

"_Care to elaborate_?" Yugi asked, but he received no response. Out loud, he said, "It's getting late; we should probably be heading home."

_Back to me…_

"How was it?" was the first thing my dad said as I entered his pickup.

"Intense," I answered. "Watching Yugi duel was _amazing_. He really _is_ a champion."

"And your duel?" Dad pressed.

"Just as intense…I won again," I said as quickly as I could.

"Congratulations, sweetie!" Dad ruffled my hair. "I'm so proud of you! How did you do it?"

So, all the way back I gave an elaborately detailed description of my duel with Kaiba.

"…And I won with a direct attack with my **Vanity's Ruler**," I finished as we walked into the apartment.

"That was awesome, Sarana," Dad said happily, giving me a bear hug.

"Oh, and Dad?" I asked, my voice muffled by his sweater, "Yugi wanted me to hang out with his group tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Oh sweetie, how convenient and wonderful! I have to work tomorrow, and I didn't know what you were going to do while I was out." He broke out of the hug and put his hands on my shoulders. "Just have fun, okay? I'm so glad that you're already making friends here."

That word again: _friend_. I smiled and shrugged his hand off my shoulder. "Good night," I whispered, and went to my room. With a sigh, I put my new Duel Disk (that Dad had admired for a little while in the car ride) on my bedside table and threw myself backwards onto the thick comforter.

So much had happened today: I visited a tomb, learned how to play Duel Monsters, beat a champion _twice_, and…I became the keeper of a huge secret. Over and over I envisaged his burgundy eyes staring at me, heard the frustration in his voice as he found little answers about his past, and heard his unfamiliarity with speaking the word _love_ out loud. He seemed almost…_adverse_ to the idea of loving someone, but why? Then again, sharing a body with a pubescent adolescent could make complications…

My eyes started drooping after a somewhat long period of pondering, so I put on my pajamas and went to sleep, ending a long, productive day, but my dreams were once more filled by a similar dream from before…

**So Sarana officially is a member of the circle of friends. She definitely need the suppport with everything coming her way, especially next chapter...oops! Did I write that out loud? Sorry, but you'll just have to keep reading if you want to know what I mean! Please R&R!**


	7. Six: Nightmares In More Than One Sense

**So what is the dream that bothers Sarana and Yami intensely so? Just keep reading!**

**Not gonna bother with the Disclaimer anymore. Everyone knows that Yu-Gi-Oh!, does not belong to me, but Sarana does.**

Chapter Six: Nightmares…In More Than One Sense 

_I stood before the dark man, something similar to Duel Disk, only it was gold, on my arm, saying nothing as my spirit _ka_ dissolved into smoke. I fell to my knees when my legs gave from the sudden wave of exhaustion, but I was silent, even as pain racked my body. With an evil grin, the dark man pointed a scepter at me, to sacrifice my soul to the Shadow Realm._

"_Sarana!" a voice cried, just as a blinding white orb burst from my chest. As I fell, the pharaoh caught me in his arms, looking horrified. "Sarana…" he whispered as darkness clouded the ends of my vision._

"_My pharaoh," I whispered back, using every ounce of energy I had to reach up and touch his cheek, "I'm sorry…I failed…" _

"_Oh, Sarana…" the pharaoh held me close to him as the white orb in the air that was my soul was extinguished when the dark man's hand closed over it, and I felt my heart beat slower…slower…slooooooooooweeeeerrrrr… I heard the enemy's strangely warped voice laughing…until everything was gone completely._

I jolted into an upright position. That dream felt so real, I… I really felt that I was _there_, five thousand years ago dueling that dark person who had yet to be named…that I…_died_ in the pharaoh's arms…the thought made me shiver slightly for more than one reason.

I glanced at the clock: 4:27 am. With that in mind, I lay back down intending to fall back asleep, but my heart continued to race, so much faster than when I was dying…

_Over at Yugi's home_…

Yami was having a similar nightmare, deep inside of Yugi's heart…

_It was one of those dreams where no matter how fast Yami tried to run, his legs just wouldn't carry him fast enough to that small cave deep in the Egyptian desert. Mysteriously, he knew that he had to get there at all costs, or else something terrible would happen…_

_At long last, he was running into the cave where he knew what he sought was, but he was too late: Sarana, dressed in an unfamiliar outfit of ancient Egypt origin, gasped slightly as her soul, blinding white because of her purity, burst from her chest. _

"_Sarana!" Yami shouted as she began to fall, but he caught her in his arms before she did. "Sarana…" he whispered, seeing her face pale as the blood drained from it._

_With an effort, she raised her hand and placed it on his check. It was already turning cold. "My pharaoh…" she murmured, the light in her beautiful dark eyes beginning to fade, "I'm sorry…I failed…"_

"_Oh, Sarana…" He held her close to him so that she couldn't see the tear welling up in his eye. She had enough pain without seeing his, too._

_The dark man laughed as his arm, clad in a dark lather gauntlet, closed around Sarana's soul, extinguishing it forever. Sarana's heart, pressed against Yami's chest, began steadily beating slower…and slower…until it was gone._

"_I love you," he whispered, but he knew that she didn't hear him. He laid her gently on the floor and closed her glazed-over eyes with two fingers, before he faced the dark man with anger mixed with passion in his heart…_

"Pharaoh? _Pharaoh_! Wake up!" Yugi urged.

"Sarana!" Yami jerked awake in his endless maze of a home, within the Millennium Puzzle, with Yugi leaning over him, looking concerned.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Yugi asked worriedly.

"Not exactly." Yami sat up. He didn't want Yugi to know what was going through his head right this second.

Yugi wasn't convinced, however. "It had something to do with her; you were muttering her name in your sleep." Yami knew who was implied by the word _her_.

Yami sighed inwardly. There was just no keeping secrets from his companion. "Yes, I was: I watched her be murdered by someone I don't know. The strange thing is, it was as if we had travelled back in time, to my days as the pharaoh…"

"Do you think it's a memory from five thousand years ago?" Yugi asked excitedly.

"It could be," Yami said, but he had his doubts.

_Back to me_…

I woke up that morning at 8am to the alarm I had set up the night before, which played "Painting Flowers" by All Time Low while I made my bed. I didn't want to change yet, because I wanted to hit the shower.

"Goooooood _morning_!" Dad sang as he opened my door, "Welcome to Day 3 at Camp Dad's Home in Egypt!"

"Whoopee," I muttered, going over to give him a hug.

When we parted, Dad said, "Now since it's Monday, I have to go to work, so be good and I'll see you tonight!" He walked out of the room. "Oh! Before I forget, there are frozen pancakes for you in the freezer!"

"Thanks, Dad," I said gratefully, taking hold of a towel.

While I lathered shampoo into my damp hair in the shower, I heard his pickup pulling out of the apartment garage, leaving me alone.

A few minutes later, I was blow drying my hair and smoothing it down with a hair brush. I had noticed before, but I was still impressed by the bronze highlights that glimmered in the ebony mane when the light hit it just right.

My outfit of choice was a deep violet camisole with a gray shrug that tied together just under my chest, and dark blue jeans. After a moment of hesitation, I tied my hair back with a purple bandana. I looked at the finished me in the mirror. I looked almost nothing like the girl in worn jeans and a hoodie with somewhat neat hair who had defeated Kaiba yesterday. Which, of course, was what I hoping for.

A knock on the door caught my attention, and I figured it was Yugi, and I was right.

"Hey, Sarana!" he greeted, and I saw Joey, Tristan, and Tea waiting for us in the driveway. "You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah!" I said with what I hoped was a genuine grin. "What are we doing today?"

"This and that, we never really have a schedule," he answered cheerfully, which sounded good enough to me.

"Wow…" I breathed softly.

We were standing on a raised platform overlooking the Nile River. The blaring sun was reflected in a billion facets of its sparkling surface. Across the river I could see the pyramids and the Great Sphinx. "It's so _beautiful_!" I said with feeling.

"Isn't it?" Yugi said softly.

Before long, this moment of peace with my new friends was disturbed most rudely.

"_It's her_! That girl who beat _Kaiba_!" a kid shouted excitedly. Suddenly, I was mobbed by a crowd of people demanding all sorts of things: a duel, an autograph, permission to hold my deck, and even demands to take the Egyptian God Card for themselves!

_Oh, flibbertegibbesnapperwidget! So much for my disguise_, I thought angrily as I attempted to weave out of the throng. I heard Yugi trying to push everyone away from me, but they were mauling him, too, being a world champion with two of three Egyptian God Cards and all.

I finally managed to break away from the vicious crowd and darted away before anyone noticed…well, I heard Joey calling to me, but I was freaking out too much to care. I just _had_ to get away from them…

I was so spazzed that I didn't notice where I was running until I found myself in some old alley which was slightly frightening, but there was no one there to mob me, so it was okay to me. I put my hands on my knees and panted slightly.

Suddenly, I was aware of three shadows in front of me. They appeared to be people in cloaks with hood over their heads. I straightened myself warily.

"What's a pretty little girl doing in a small place…_alone_?" One wondered in this really creepy voice.

_Oh drat, oh crap, oh flapdoodle, oh flibbertegibbesnapperwidget, they're gonna mug me…or worse_! Adrenaline spiked through my veins!

"She looks like – unless I'm mistaken – the duelist who beat Kaiba yesterday," another said, "And correct me if I'm wrong, but she is said to have an Egyptian God Card."

"No, you're right," the third said, "And we've been ordered by our master to find all three cards and bring them to him…"

_No…they want Slifer_! _I won't let them have it_! I leaped into a run farther into the alley, where I saw it branch off into two directions. I started to go right, but I quickly changed left when I saw that it was a dead end.

Left was a good idea, because I saw that it also broke off in a maze of alleys. I continued running despite the stitch in my ribs, taking random turns to confuse my pursuers, until I reached an exit…that was blocked by one of the hooded strangers! I quickly skidded to a stop and turned around to try another exit…which was also blocked! I turned again – trapped! There was no where to run! Hyperventilating, I searched frantically for an escape as the hooded strangers closed in me!

"_Who are you_?" one asked, his voice somewhat familiar but strangely warped. "_How did you obtain possession of an Egyptian God Card_?"

"I'm not telling," I said defiantly, and clamped my mouth shut.

"_Give it to me_!" one of them a punch in my direction, and sent me flying! With a thud, and a lot of pain, I fell heavily on the ground.

"_You _will_ give me your Egyptian God Card_," one snarled, and I saw a golden eye glow on his forehead, similar to the one on Yugi's Millennium Puzzle!

"Leave her alone, Rare Hunters!" a voice commanded. Terrified, I glanced behind the…Rare Hunters. Silhouetted against the evening sun was –

"She doesn't have what you want!" Yami shouted, activating his Duel Disk, "But _I_ do."

He was protecting me? Of course I had Slifer; he was trying to draw them away so I could escape.

"_Well, if it isn't the_ _pharaoh himself_," the Rare Hunter sneered, facing him and activating a Duel Disk of his own, "_Now I have all the Egyptian God Cards, and even the Millennium Puzzle_, _within my reach…_"

"I don't know who you are, but if you want anything from us, you'll have to duel us for them," Yami said evenly. I started at the word _us_. "Sarana, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," I said shakily, getting to my feet. "Did you say _us_? Because I don't have a Duel Disk on me…"

"I figured," Yami said, tossing one at me, "Yugi stopped by your home to get this, you're not far from your apartment."

I caught the Disk. "Well, that's kind of awkward, but okay." I pulled it on and activated it.

"_Well, this will be interesting_," the first Rare Hunter said in his warped up voice, "_My Rare Hunters against the King and Queen of Games_…"

"Quit the yapping, I'm not the queen of anything!" I snapped, standing beside the pharaoh! "But it _will_ be us against you!"

The Rare Hunter laughed maniacally. "_You really think you can defeat me_? _I'll defeat you both and take your Millennium Puzzle _and_ all three Egyptian God Cards_!" Another Rare Hunter activated a Duel Disk, and it was time to duel!

**The next action-packed duel begins! Read on to watch the outcome of this thing you definitely do not want to miss! And PLEASE review!**


	8. Seven: Sword and Shield-aka lost chapter

So I was recently going through my stories, and I realized that when I originally uploaded this story, I LEFT A CHAPTER OUT. If anyone was confused but the sudden jump in story, I very deeply apologize. With that said, enjoy this long-lost chapter!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Sword and Shield

"I'll start things off!" I declared, drawing six cards. Looking at my hand, I noticed that I already had the cards in my hand for a special combo! "I'll Summon **The Forgiving Maiden** in Defense Mode and lay this card facedown! That's all for now."

"_My move_!" the warped – voice Rare Hunter (We'll call him Rare and the other guy Hunter) announced, "_I Summon __**Neo the Magic Swordsman**__ in Attack Mode and place these two cards facedown! I end my turn_."

I felt a slight shiver as Yami made his move. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was tag-teaming with a pharaoh who had almost never lost a game. What if I messed up his strategy and cost us the duel and the Egyptian God Cards!?

"**Queen**'**s Knight**! Attack Mode!" He declared, "And this, facedown…" He ended his turn.

Hunter played **Ryu – Kishin Powered** in Attack Mode, and that was it.

"My move! I draw!" It was another good card! "I activate the Spell Card **Polymerization**, fusing **The Forgiving Maiden** and **Marie the Fallen One** from my hand to form **St**. **Joan**!"

She looked almost exactly like Guardian Angel Joan, and had the same Attack and Defense Point, except instead of a white dress, she wore beautiful white armor and held a lethal and elegant sword. Huge wings made of light sprouted from her shoulders.

"I equip her with the Spell Card **Horn of the Unicorn**, giving her boost of 700 Attack and Defense Points, for a total of 3500!" Joan's sword began to glow with electric energy as the Spell Card did its work. "Finally, I activate **Gravekeeper**'**s Servant**, which means that every time you attack, you must discard one card from the top of your deck!" Rare and Hunter looked outraged at how productive my turn had been. "**St**. **Joan**! Attack **Ryu – Kishin Powered**!" With one slash, Hunter's Life Points were reduced to 2100, almost half of what he started with! "I end my turn," I said finally.

"_You probably think you're so special_," Rare sneered as he drew his card, "_But believe me, this duel has just begun_! _I Summon this monster in facedown position, and Attack __**Queen's Knight**__ with my __**Neo the Magic Swordsman**_!" he flipped a card off the top of his deck and discarded it to the graveyard because of my Spell Card, and the handsome knight flew at Yami's monster, swinging his sword in a wide arch!

"I won't let that happen!" I countered, "Trap Card! **Ordeal of a Traveler**!" I held up my card. "Trap, Monster, Spell. You make the call, but be careful: one wrong guess and your monster returns to your hand!"

"_Spell_?" Rare asked.

"Wrong!" I snapped, flipping the card over to prove it was a Monster Card, and Neo was returned to Rare's hand, leaving Yami untouched!

"Good move," he complimented me, sending a pink flush into my cheeks.

"_Grrr…I end my turn_," Rare snarled.

"My move!" Yami drew. "I Summon **King's Knight** to the field!" as the large man joined the blonde woman, he added, "That means that I can automatically Summon my **Jack's Knight**!" a handsome tan knight with long blonde hair joined Yami's building army, completing the trio. "Now, my **Jack's Knight**! Attack the facedown monster!"

"_Not so fast_!" Rare hissed, "_You activated my Trap Card __**Mask of Weakness**__, which decreases your precious knight's power by 700 points! Also, my monster was the __**Mystical Elf**__, with 2000 Defense points_!"

"No!" Yami gasped, but it was too late! The knight attacked the beautiful elf and lost, deflected by her defensive magic, lowering Yami's Life Points to 3200! "I…end my turn," he muttered.

"Excellent!" said Hunter, drawing his card, "I Summon one Monster in facedown Defense Mode and place this card facedown. That's it!"

"Interesting…" Yami murmured. When I shot him a questioning glance, he explained, "There are two types of duelists: the offensive and the defensive. Offensive duelists attack their opponent and try to take out their Life Points as quickly as possible, using brute force and magical combos. Defensive duelists usually play their monster defensively and raise their Defense in an attempt to exhaust their opponent. You and I are offensive duelists, but these two," he gestured to the Rare Hunters, "are playing defensively, but they use spells and traps to make our moves backfire on ourselves. In other words, be careful about how you use your cards, or you could find it being used against you."

I was stunned that the pharaoh could read our opponents so quickly, until I remembered his reputation as the world champion. I took his advice to heart with this in mind.

"My turn! I draw a card!" As I flicked a card off the deck, my life Points went up by 200.

"What happened?!" Hunter demanded.

"It's **Marie the Fallen One**'s Special Ability," I explained as a phantom of the black-skinned, black-winged demon girl appeared above me. "When she's in the graveyard, I gain 200 Life Points during each Standby Phase." I played my newest card. "I Summon **Dancing Fairy** in Defense Mode and end my turn." I did not attack out of wariness of the Hunters' facedown cards.

Rare drew his card. "_I sacrifice my Mystical Elf_!" She disappeared in a spiral of darkness, "_To Summon __**Magical Marionette**_!" a dark wizard wielding a puppet holding a pair of sharp knives appeared."_Next I will_ _activate __**Ookazi**__! This Spell Card inflicts 800 Points of damage on whichever opponent I choose_!" A throng of fireballs descended upon…me!

"Ah!" I yelped in surprise as my life Points lowered to 3400!

"Sarana!" Yami cried, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…I'm fine," I answered, wincing.

Suddenly, a circle of magic glowed on the marionette, and its attack points went up by 200, making its total 2200!

"What?! Why is your monster more powerful?!" Yami demanded. "What have you done?!"

"_Every time someone activates a Spell Card, __**Magical Marionette**__'s power goes up by 200 points,_" Rare explained with a sneer.

"I won't let it get any more powerful," the pharaoh promised, drawing his card. "I sacrifice **King**'**s Knight** and **Queen**'**s** **Knight** to Summon my **Dark Magician**!"

The two knights converged into a ball of light, which burst to reveal a magician with purple hair, dressed in some black and violet costume that covered just about all of him. He held a long violet and black scepter with a red orb on top.

"**Dark Magician**! Attack his Marionette with _Dark Magic Attack_!" Yami ordered.

"_That cannot happen_!" Rare exclaimed, "_Trap Card activate_! **_Shift_**_ will redirect your attack to my partner's facedown monster_!"

The burst of green light that had burs from the magician's staff veered off the side…to attack the facedown monster instead!

"My facedown is **Wall of Illusion**!" the monster was revealed to be a hideous face leering at us from a stretch of wall. The **Dark Magician**'s attack destroyed it completely, but at the time the magician disappeared!

"What's going on?!" I demanded.

"If **Wall of Illusion** is attacked, the attacking monster is returned to its owner's hand," Yami explained. "That ends my turn."

All Hunter did was put another monster in facedown Defense Mode and another card facedown.

I drew my card and my Life Points went up by 1200.

"_Now what's going on_?!" Rare shouted.

"It's my **Dancing Fairy**'s Special Ability: as long as it remains in face-up Defense Mode, My Life Points go up by 1000," I explained with a smirk. My total was now 4600!

"Your marionette is going down," I declared, "**St. Joan**, destroy it!"

Joan launched herself at the marionette, brandishing her electric sword.

"I activate **Waboku**, which will protect my monster on this turn!" Rare countered, and Joan's attack was nullified. I ground my teeth in frustration.

"Don't lose your cool," Yami warned, "That's what they want."

I exhaled through my teeth and muttered, "My turn is over."

Rare drew his card with a flourish. "_I activate my Spell Card __**Magical Mallet**__!"_ Another ball of light hovered by the marionette as its Attack strength went to 2400. "_This card allows me to shuffle as many cards in my hand as I want into my deck, and then draw the same number of cards_. _I only have two cards, but I will shuffle both of them into my deck_." There was a moment of silence as he did just what he said, but when Rare looked at his card, he started laughing maniacally. "_I equip __**Magical Marionette**__ with the Spell Card __**United We Stand**_!"

Suddenly, its Attack power was way higher than it had been…at 4200!

"_This marionette get 800 Attack and Defense Points for every monster on our side of the field, plus the 200 it gets from activating a Spell Card_," Rare said dangerously, "_But that's the _least_ of your problems_!" Two of the three Spell Counters hovering around the marionette disappeared and **St. Joan** blew up! "_By discarding two Spell Counters I can destroy any monster I want on the field. Now, attack the __**Dancing Fairy**_!" Once again, he discarded a card from his deck, and I saw anger flash across his face. I smirked inwardly; he had lost an important card.

I held up my card for Rare to figure, and he – regrettably – guessed correctly: it was a Monster card. **Dancing Fairy** was gone, but none of my Life Points were. "_I end my turn by putting this last card facedown_."

"My move!" Just before the pharaoh drew his card Yugi materialized beside him.

"_It's not looking too good right now_," he said worriedly.

"_We'll have to trust in the heart of the cards; they'll find the way_," the pharaoh answered. He closed his eyes as his hand inched toward his deck. I also focused my willpower into that card on top. _Please, heart of the cards, please…be a really good card_! We couldn't lose the Egyptian God Cards, we just couldn't!

Suddenly, the card was _swished_ from the top of the deck, and Yami smiled.

"I place this card facedown and end my turn!" _That was it_?!

"I draw!" Hunter announced. "I will also place one card facedown and end my turn!"

The pharaoh had said that these two played defensively, but now I wasn't so sure…Then it occurred to me!

"They're like a sword and shield," I said. Yami glanced at me, confused. "That one," I gestured to Rare, "does all the attacking, but his friend defends him with Traps and Spells whenever we attack."

"Excellent observation," Yami complimented, and I felt a slight blush creep into my cheeks. "I just started thinking the same thing…" He suddenly addressed the Rare Hunters.

"Why do you want my Millennium Puzzle?"

Rare began laughing. "_For the same reason I've always wanted it, _pharaoh!_ To have all seven Millennium Items_!"

Yami gasped. "It can't be! You can't be - !"

"_Maybe,_" Rare said, "_Now, if I recall, it is the girl's turn_."

"Right." _Heart of the cards, now would be a good time to help out_, I thought frantically, but I forgot **Horn of the Unicorn**'s Special Ability, and that was what I drew!

"**Spirit of the Harp**, Defense Mode," I muttered, while my Life Points went up to 4800. "I end my turn."

"_Prepare to hand over your Puzzle, as well as all three of your God Cards_," Rare sneered as he drew his card. "_I summon one monster in facedown Defense mode, which powers up my marionette,_" its power increased to 4600!_ "and end my turn_."

"What do you want with his Puzzle?!" I demanded, "There's nothing it can do for you!"

At this, Rare threw his head back and laughed. _"Nothing, you say_?! _With the Puzzle and the other Millennium Items, girl, I can take over the world…and destroy it_!"

_What_?!

"Wait, time out!" I shouted, and looked at Yami. "Can he do that?!"

"Unfortunately…yes, if he's who I think he is," Yami said, and there was anger glinting in his burgundy eyes.

"Well, this changes a lot of things!" I said fiercely, "If the stakes are this high in this duel, we _have_ to win!" I caught Yami's confused expression. "Uh, not that we didn't have too win before, but now I know just how much more important it is to win!" I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Um, it's your turn."

"Right," Yami nodded. "You won't get my Puzzle this time…_Bakura_!"

So Rare had a name, did he?

Rare – Bakura? – laughed again. "_You got me. I'm using the Millennium Rod to control this worthless puppet, and once I defeat you both, he'll take your Puzzle and your God Cards and bring them to me._"

"Millennium _Rod_?!" Yami demanded, "That's not your Item! You have the Millennium Ring!"

"Rod? Ring? How many Millennium Items are there?" I asked.

"There are seven," the pharaoh told me, "And each of them holds part of the key to my memory. Bakura has been after all seven of them for some time, because he believes that some great power resides within my memories. But you won't get your hands one them, ever!" he vowed.

"_Really_?" Bakura asked through the Rare Hunter, "_Then why do I have six of seven Items_? _Your Item is the only one not in my possession, pharaoh_!"

"What?!" To say Yami was upset would have been an understatement. "But how-?"

"_Very carefully, now _make your move!" Bakura snarled, "_So that I defeat you and claim my prize…_"

"You won't be defeating me, Bakura!" Yami drew his card. "I sacrifice my **Jack's Knight** to Summon the **Dark Magician Girl**!" A beautiful young spellcaster with a very flattering outfit, blonde hair, and sparklingly merry green eyes appeared. Her Attack points were 2300, for some reason, but I saw on her card that she was supposed to have only 2000.

Yami smirked. "So, there is a **Dark Magician **in your graveyard, is there? It powers up my magician girl by 300," he explained to Bakura, who bared his teeth in a sneer.

"Yami that's no where near strong enough to beat their monster," I said warily.

He chuckled, deep in his chest. "That's why I'm not attacking this turn, Sarana. This ends my turn."

Hunter drew his card. "I'll pass on this turn."

_He's waiting for us to make the wrong move_, I realized while I drew my card, _I'll have to tread cautiously if I want to avoid making any huge mistakes_. I glanced at the card I drew: **Soul of Purity and Light**. Not exactly what I was looking for, but it would have to do. "I remove **St. Joan** and **The Forgiving Maiden** from the graveyard and the game to Special Summon **Soul of Purity and Light**!" the ghostly fairy hovered in front of me. "I'll end my turn."

Bakura began laughing, a sound that sent a chill down my spine. "_You just made a huge mistake, little girl_." My heart almost stopped beating; what did I do? "_You left your monster in Attack Mode, leaving your Life Points _wide open_ for attack._" He was right! If this attack made it through, almost half my Life Points would be decimated!

"**_Magical Marionette_**_! Attack the __**Soul of Purity and Light**_!" he discarded another card with a grimace, but he guessed correctly once again what card I held: a Spell Card!

Yami smirked again as the marionette's attack sped toward my fairy! "I activate my Trap Card! **Magic Cylinder**!" Two cans appeared in front of my fairy! 'This card will protect Sarana's card…and send your attack right back at you, Bakura!"

The attack entered one capsule…and shot out of the other one! It hit Bakura directly in the chest, and he took 4600 points of Attack directly to his Life Points! Yami won the duel!

* * *

So there's that...I hope you like it! I know it's been over a year since I updated this, and again I'm very sorry. I'm still working on ploading the Monstrosity, and I'm very busy with art and school, so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for chapters...enjoy the rest of the story!


	9. Eight: May Be Something There

**Had a bit of fun with this one, as you will see :) Imaginary cookies to anyone who can spot YGOTAS references!**

Chapter Eight : May Be Something There that Wasn't There Before

Bakura in Rare's body stood up after he collapsed from the attack. "_Very impressive_," he said grudgingly, "_But I am far from beaten. Your Millennium Item is as good as mine_!" He and the other Rare Hunters walked away and…disappeared into thin air?

"Wow…" I said softly, "That was intense."

"We're just lucky that he didn't turn it into a Shadow Game," Yami said quietly.

The phrase sounded familiar… "Shadow Game?"

"In which the monster become real, and the loser is banished to the Shadow Realm," the pharaoh explained.

Then I remembered. "That's how the Sarana from five thousand years ago died, isn't it?"

"Yes." Yami avoided my gaze. I could tell he was still bothered by the concept of a love interest in his former life.

"Hey, uh…" I said awkwardly; what could I say to a pharaoh? "Um, thanks for, you know, saving me."

The pharaoh looked back at me, his eyes softening. "No problem."

"Just out of curiosity, how did you find me?" I asked.

"Yugi ran after you when he saw you escape that mob. He saw the Rare Hunters and went to get your Duel Disk, because there was no way they'd let you go without a fight."

"Who _are_ the Rare Hunters? And who's Bakura? You sounded like you know him or something…"

"He was a friend of mine and Yugi's until he was possessed by the spirit of the Millennium Ring," Yami said shortly, "Now he is bent on destroying the world, and I have to stop him in any way I can." He sounded like he didn't want to go on about Bakura. "The Rare Hunters are the thugs of Duel Monsters. They attack unsuspecting duelists and steal their best cards. Bakura must have used the Millennium Rod to brainwash the ones we dueled…"

"Hmm…" I mumbled. I glanced at my watch. "Oh, I have to leave; Dad will be home from the dig soon." I gave Yami a grin. "Again, thank you." He shot back a slightly uncertain answering smile, and I left the alley with a wave.

_When I wasn't looking_…

Sarana's smile seemed glued to Yami's eyes. It was as if the sun had broken through the heavy rain clouds of his despair and left a rainbow for him.

Since when was he this poetical?

"_Okay spill it, what's the deal_?" Yugi demanded playfully.

"_What's what deal_?" Yami asked, confused.

"_You _do_ like her, don't you_?" Yugi teased.

"_Gah…maybe_," the pharaoh said evasively.

"_Oh come on_!_ If she has something to do with this girl you liked five thousand years ago, then maybe you're _destined_ for each other_!"

Yami froze; he hadn't thought of that. _No_! _Focus_! _I _can't _be falling in _love!

"_Hey, just because you're a millennia-old spirit doesn't mean you can't have a crush on somebody_," Yugi said cheerfully. "_She _is_ very pretty, you know_."

"_Sounds like I'm not the only one who may or may not have feelings for someone_," Yami teased back, causing Yugi to blush slightly.

"_N-no, it's not like that_!_ I like her the way I like Tea; she's a really good friend_!"

In his mind, Yugi began to think: he may have had feelings for the sweet young girl who he had taught Duel Monster and that under his instruction had beaten Kaiba, but Yami needed her more, so it was time to plan another…_surprise_ for him. The duelist grinned evilly; this was going to be fun!

_The next day…_

Yugi searched feverishly through his dresser; there _had_ to be in there other than black leather and school uniforms!

"_Yugi what are you up to_?" Yami asked warily.

"_It's a surprise_," Yugi said mysteriously.

"_That last time you said that, I ended up spending a day with Tea at random places and saved her from a creep who wanted to go on a date with her because she beat him at Dance Dance Revolution_."

"_No worries, that won't happen today_," Yugi quipped. He sighed. "I guess we'll just have to do with black leather…Maybe you guys can go shopping today."

"_What_?"

"_Oh…nothing_," Yugi said quickly, but Yami still looked suspicious. Dang, he probably already knew what was coming…

_Back to me_…

This was going to be one heck of a nerve-wracking day. I checked myself in the mirror one more time to make sure that I looked okay.

Yugi had phoned me last night, and he told me what he was doing. I still had a feeling he was hiding something, but hey, I owed him a favor after what his alter ego did yesterday.

Today I wore a gray halter top and another pair of my nicer jeans. I left my black hair to tumble down my back and around my shoulders in an inky-bronze waterfall.

Dad had already left for work when I left my room, but I saw a note on the table:

_Sarana,_

_We may have found some artifacts yesterday, so I left early to continue working on it. I forgot to tell you yesterday, but I want you to keep your Duel Disk on you at all times. There are people who call themselves Rare Hunters that lurk about this place, and they will steal whatever cards they can find. I just want you to defend yourself._

_XOXO,_

_Dad_

I snorted. Dad didn't need to tell me any of this: he had been so excited last night when I came home because they had dug up some more evidence of Duel Monsters in the past, and I already had a run-in with the Rare Hunters yesterday. The fierce duel was still burned into my mind. Nevertheless, I put on my Duel Disk as he instructed. Hey who knows, I might be using it later, if Kaiba still held a grudge.

I saw the stove clock turn to 8:45, and Yugi wanted to meet me at Cairo Plaza at 9:30. Since it was about a 20 minute walk, I figured I'd start now. Here's hoping I didn't run into any Rare Hunters on the way…

_A little while later at Cairo Plaza…_

There was no sign of Yugi or any of his friends when I arrived, so I sat on a bench and waited patiently for someone to show up.

"Have fun pharaoh, you can thank me later," I heard, and my head whipped around and saw Yami being completely flummoxed, before he realized what was happening.

"Yugi! You promised you wouldn't do this again!" Then he realized that I was standing right there, and he waved, somewhat shyly, and said "hello," awkwardly.

I waved back, and he walked till he was by my side. "Don't know why Yugi put me up to this. Do you?"

"Nope," I answered, "He just told me to meet him here, now. He didn't mention anything about why."

"Well, since we're here, what do you want to do?" It appeared that Yami had little experience with outings or…dates.

"No idea, I don't know what's here," I quipped, "I've only been here a few days…"

"Right…It's weird, because I haven't known for a long time, but it already feels like I've known you for years. If this is because of something in my past…"

"Well, how about we go back to museum?" I asked, "Maybe we'll find something new!"

"Alright, that sounds like a good idea," the pharaoh agreed.

"Hey, I didn't see that here before," I said, surprised.

In front of us was a _giant rock_ upon which was…the pharaoh? He was dueling some random person with a **Dark Magician** against the opponent's **Blue – Eyes White Dragon**.

"This was how I first learned that I was a pharaoh," Yami said, "and that I somehow saved the world from being destroyed by the Shadow Games. Something that confuses me is that person on the left," he pointed to the other figure, "seems to be Kaiba, but he denies everything even associated with ancient Egypt. He doesn't believe in magic, or the Millennium Items, or even in this stone tablet. He believes that it was only freakish coincidence."

"Well, he surrounds himself with the world's metal and plastic, and if I were him, I wouldn't be too interested in things like magic or make-believe." Yami stared at me, surprised and a little puzzled.

"Think of it this way," I continued, "Magic isn't something that can really be proven. Kaiba, with his inventions, wants to believe in only things that can be proven, and believes that if something out of the ordinary happens, it should have a scientific explanation. Since magic can't be explained, he has no reason to believe in it. In a way, he forces himself not to believe in anything but science and technology."

"I never thought of it that way," Yami said, astonished, "I'm surprised you were able to get such a reading on him even though you've only met him a few times."

"I didn't," I said, "I was just guessing from what I've seen and heard about him."

"It was still very accurate," Yami said softly. We made eye contact, and the burgundy fire in his eyes made a blush creep into my cheeks again.

"Yugi! Rookie!" a voice that was unmistakably Kaiba shouted. "Rematch!" We turned and saw him glowering at us with his arms crossed.

"Can't it wait, Kaiba?" I asked wearily.

"No! You – _both_ of you – have stomped me down far too many times!" Kaiba shouted, "It's payback time!"

"I'll handle this," Yami muttered, activating his Duel Disk. "This won't take long." He faced his biggest rival. "You've hassled us for the last time, Kaiba! If I win this duel you will wait one month before challenging _either_ of us again!"

_Us, _my mind whispered, _he said us._ He was defending me too…? But why?

"But if _I_ win, then you and the girl will hand over your Egyptian God Cards _and_ tell everyone that I am the _real_ Duel King!" Kaiba countered.

"Very well," the pharaoh said, and both opponents declared, "_Let's duel_!"

It wasn't a very long duel.

Sure, Kaiba Summoned his **Blue – Eyes Ultimate Dragon**, but Yami managed to Summon the second Egyptian God Card – **Obelisk the Tormentor**!

It was huge, and blue. Its towering Attack Points, however, were still several hundred less than Kaiba's dragon, at least until Yami sacrificed his **Big Shield Guardna **and **Celtic Guardian** to give the god infinite Attack Points and win the duel!

"One month," Yami repeated, and walked back to me. "Told you it wouldn't be long,' he said with a small smirk.

"I'll never get bored of watching you duel," I promised. Indeed, Yami had a way with dueling that made it seem…I dunno, I can't think of the best word to describe it…artistic?

"So now that that's done what would you like to do?" he asked casually, as if no interruption had taken place.

"Um, how about you pick?" I asked. Now that the duel was over, it once again felt awkward to be in the pharaoh's presence.

"Well, there's a trading card game shop nearby, if you want to check it out," Yami said, avoiding my gaze; he must have been pretty desperate, reverting to the topic he was most comfortable with.

_Most comfortable with…_

"That sounds perfect!" I said excitedly, "Let's go!"

Yami brightened up at my enthusiasm, and so the card shop it was!

This place was interesting: you could either just buy some cards, _or_ you could trade in some of your cards for some new ones.

"There was a place back in Yugi's home like this," Yami informed me as we browsed. "I was able to find some excellent cards."

I nodded absently. There were so many to look at! I finally was able to choose a couple card packs and just see what I got.

As we walked out of the store I opened the first of three packs. Nothing that really caught my eye, though Yami whistled at the **Summoned Skull**. Next pack had an interesting surprise – **Dark Magician Girl**, but not really any else that could go with my fairy deck theme.

However, both our jaws dropped when I opened the last pack.

"Is that…_me_?" I asked incredulously.

"Sure looks like you, doesn't it?"

It was the **Dark Witch** card. Her hair was the same style as mine, although hers was blue-black as opposed to brown-black, and our faces had an uncanny resemblance. She looked a little older though, and large black wings sprouted from her shoulders.

"I wonder…" Yami murmured.

"Wonder what?" I asked.

"It's nothing. Just a thought." Yami sent me a genuine smile, rare for him.

"About what?" I persisted.

"…Do you know what _ka_ are?" the pharaoh asked after a moment of consideration.

"Um, I think so…It's like your soul if it had a form, right?"

"Almost. Ancient Egyptians believed that they had a guardian that evolved as they grew and matured, and it was their constant spirit companion during their lifetime, and that it accompanied their _ba_, or life force, to the afterlife.

"That's actually only the half the truth that is revealed to the present. Actually, yes they had a spirit companion, and it did evolve, but it reflected the _heart_ of the man. If he was pure of heart, his _ka_ was good, a spirit or god _ka_. However, if his heart was black with evil, then his _ka_ reflected his darkness.

"After some time, the ancient Egyptians realized that they could summon their spirits at will to do battle with other _ka_. Someone realized the potential of the creatures to battle enemies, and the Millennium Items were created to harness their power." Yami's dark red eyes stared sadly into my dark brown ones. "Six Guardians, plus the pharaoh, were assigned to be the masters of these Items, but not even they could stop the war that erupted fifteen years after the Item's creation." Yami looked away ashamedly. "This war would have destroyed the world if one pharaoh hadn't locked it all away within his Millennium Puzzle…and broke it into pieces."

With a jolt, I realized that I had just learned the history of Duel Monsters…and even some of the pharaoh's past!

"Anyway, back to my original thought," Yami added quickly, remembering the cause of this conversation, "I was wondering if maybe the **Dark Witch** was the ancient Egyptian Sarana's _ka_…"

I looked again at the card. There was so much resemblance to between me and it that it impossible to miss!

"Hold on, Yami, did you say Guardians?" I asked.

He nodded. "There were six total plus the pharaoh, as I said. Each was given a Millennium Item, and it was their job to seal the monster _ka_ into stone slabs, effectively ridding a person of the evil in his heart. Also, whenever enemies threatened Egypt, the six Guardians and the pharaoh protected the lands with the captured _ka_."

"How do you know this?" I wondered.

"In my quest for answers to my past, I met an Egyptian clan devoted to protecting the Millennium Items until the return of the pharaoh, and they shared some of my past with me."

"A whole family…devoted…to _you_?"

Yami nodded. "I was surprised when I learned that as well."

Just then, the hot August sun peeked out from underneath a bridge across the Nile. Without knowing it, our day together was almost over.

"Wow…today was just…something else," I said haltingly, unable to quite describe it.

"It's not over yet," Yami said slyly.

"It's…not?"

"Not yet. There's still something we have to do."

"What's that?"

Yami activated his Duel Disk. "Will you duel me, Sarana?"

The request was so unexpected, it took a moment for me to comprehend his question and answer: "Of course I will." I activated my own Disk. "Let's duel."

**This should be interesting: Sarana vs. Yami! Place your bets!**


	10. Nine: King and Servant

**It's on!...Or is it? Just keep reading!**

Chapter Nine: King and Servant

We took our duel to the banks of the Nile, beneath a small cliff for privacy, and it was game on!

"Ladies first," Yami said.

My heart pounded as I drew my first cards. I was really dueling a _pharaoh_ from five thousand years ago! This was surreal!

"I Summon **Kelbek** to the field in Defense Mode!" I announced. I reasoned that **Kelbek** would be a good defense for now, since it had 1800 Defense Points and its Special Ability. I wondered if Yami was aware of my strategy. "I'll also lay this card facedown! It's your move, pharaoh!"

"All right!" Yami drew his card. "I Summon **Obnoxious Celtic Guardian** in Attack Mode! Plus I'll equip it with the **Horn of the Unicorn**! This will give him a 700 point boost!" The elf-knight's attack strength grew to 2100, enough to wipe out **Kelbek**! "Attack!"

"You're obviously unaware of my fairy's Ability!" I shouted. "Any monster that attacks **Kelbek **is automatically returned to its owner's hand!" Sure, Kelbek was gone, but that was okay. Yami returned his guardian to his hand and laid the Spell Card on the top of his deck. "I guess we're back to where we started," he observed, "Not bad, Sarana."

"Yeah," I agreed while drawing my card, "You're not too shabby either, but what else should I expect from the King of Games?" I shot him a smile, which he reflected. "Anyway, on this turn I'll Summon my **Barrier Statue of the Heavens** to the field in Defense Mode!" The golden statue hovered in front of me. "As long as this monster remains on the field, only monsters with the Attribute of LIGHT can be Special Summoned."

"But it only has 1000 Attack and Defense Points! I could easily take it down with almost any of my Monsters!" Yami exclaimed.

"Not if I activate **Swords of Revealing Light**!" I countered, inserting the Spell Card, and grinning as a rain of glowing swords fell upon Yami, preventing him from attacking me for three turns! "That wraps up this move…for now."

Yami drew his card. "I re-Summon my **Obnoxious Celtic Guardian **to the field, in Defense Mode, and re-Equip him with the **Horn of the Unicorn**. I'll also place this card facedown." Yami met my gaze with burgundy eyes ablaze with such fierce intensity that I could almost feel myself burning in them. Then I realized I _was_ burning: a pink blush had raced into my cheeks without my noticing.

_In Yami's head_…

He saw the pink flush into her cheeks as she met his gaze. The color was so…so _beautiful_, he wanted to reach her face with his hand and –

"_Pharaoh. Focus_." Yugi.

"_Right, of course_," Yami quickly caught himself.

"_So, she has the __**Swords of Revealing Light**__ in play, and a monster that keeps you from Special Summoning most of the cards in our deck. Any ideas_?"

"_We'll just have to see what she's up to first_."

_Back to me…_

"I Summon **Dancing Fairy** in Attack Mode!" I announced with a clear and strong voice. "I won't attack on this turn. It's your move, Yami."

"Right." He drew his card. "I Summon **Big Shield Guardna** in Defense Mode." There was no way I'd be getting past that monster any time soon.

The pharaoh's eyes met mine. "It appears we are at a stalemate for now," he observed. "Not many can hold me off this long defensively. You're doing well."

"Well, I had some really good teachers," I said, causing him to turn slightly pink. That was the first time I had ever seen him blush.

I drew my card. "I'm going to win, Yami. Don't you forget it."

"Hey, just because you're a novice it doesn't mean I'm exactly going easy on you," Yami countered with a grin.

"I'll still win," I insisted, "I sacrifice my two monsters!" **Barrier Statue of the Heavens** and **Dancing Fairy** disappeared. "I Summon…**Dark Magician** to the field!"

Yami gasped in surprise. He knew that it was in my deck, but I guess it was still a shock that I had Summoned it.

Yami sensed my puzzlement, and he explained, "I have dueled only one other person with a **Dark Magician**, and it looked different from yours and mine. Seeing an exact replica of my comrade on the opponent's side of the field…it's just a little strange, that's all."

I nodded in understanding, and added, "I'll now activate this Spell Card: **Raigeki**!"

A giant bolt of lightning struck down Yami's two monsters, leaving him wide open for attack!

"**Dark Magician**! Direct Attack on the pharaoh!" The magician raised his staff and a burst of green dark magic catapulted itself at Yami!

"Arrrrrrrgh!" He groaned as his Life Points dropped to 1500!

"I'll end my turn by placing this card facedown," I finished. I couldn't believe it! I was winning a duel against the King of Games!

Yami put two fingers on his card, eyes closed. Yugi had told me yesterday that to put one's hand over the deck was a sign of surrender, but I waited. He was probably asking for the guidance of the Heart of the Cards.

My hunch was confirmed when he drew his card with a new, confident air.

"I activate the Spell Card **Bounce**!"

Suddenly my Swords of Revealing Light were surrounding _me_!

"What have you done?" I shouted.

"This Spell Card reverses the target of any Spell, Trap, or monster Effect," Yami explained, "Now it is _you_ who is frozen for three turns!"

My excited feeling burned out for a second, but it then burned even brighter than before. He really _was_ going all out against me!

"It wouldn't be fun if you just _let_ me win," I said aloud, and ended my turn for lack of anything else to do.

Yami drew his card. "I'll now activate **Rebellion**!"

I could feel the skin around my eyes tighten as they widened: **Dark Magician** was turning around to attack _me_!

"As you've already figured out, this Spell Card will take your most loyal servant…and turn it against you," Yami said triumphantly.

Even if I _did_ have a counterattack, I was too stunned by Yami's comeback that I wouldn't have been able to activate it! I cried out at my Life Points dropped down to match the pharaoh's!

"…Not bad at all, Yami," I said once the attack was over, "but I still have a bunch of secrets combos and strategies up my sleeve!"

"I look forward to encountering them," he replied evenly, but then he cocked his head as if listening for something. "However, I don't think we'll be able to explore them today…" as if right on cue a crowd of excited people were milling antlike by the entrance to the cave. Feeling really stupid, I realized that they must have heard us announcing our moves as we dueled!

Yami's and my eyes met. "Draw?" he asked.

"Draw," I agreed, deactivating my Disk, and we managed to slip away before anyone could stop us.

A few minutes later, we stopped running just outside of the apartment complex, panting heavily but laughing.

"That was fun," I gasped, clutching the stitch in my chest.

"Indeed it was," Yami agreed, still grinning and breathing heavily.

"It's a shame that our duel had to be cut off like that," I remarked, giving him a sly look, "Because I know that if we weren't interrupted, I would definitely have _won_ that duel."

"Maybe you would have," he answered, "We'll never know."

"Just don't think you'll win next time, Yami," I said.

"No matter how the next match turns out, I'm sure it will be a match to remember,' he said, making eye contact with me. I instantly felt my cheeks grow warm in his gaze.

"I…I should probably go," I said finally, turning to the entrance.

"Sarana…wait." I turned back around, and his burgundy eyes blazed into my own, heating up my face.

"…Yes?"

"Let's…lets do something like this again sometime soon," he said.

I smiled. "Yeah, it was so much fun today."

He approached closer to me, until barely a foot separated us. "I think…I think it was destiny that we should meet, Sarana. That once this artifact appears, so do you…it is impossible to speculate that it was…" he didn't finish what he was saying, but his face came extremely close to mine, until I finally closed the distance and allowed our lips to meet.

_Oh. My. Gosh. We're kissing_.

That was the last coherent thought I had before my brain shut down, and I just kind of went with it. I could feel his uncertainty, his nervousness, as our lips slowly synchronized. His hands came up and wrapped around to meet at my back, pulling me a little closer to him.

Suddenly afraid, I pulled away from him. His eyes, smoldering like so many times before, looked confused, slightly hurt. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but he had surprised me with his sudden passion.

"I-I have to go," I said a little shakily, and ran inside.

_When I was gone_…

Yami stared after Sarana as she hustled into the apartment. What had he done to make her run off like that?

"_You still need a little work, but that wasn't a bad kiss_," Yugi said from within the Millennium Puzzle.

"_Thanks, Yugi. Really_."

_Back to me…_

I didn't stop until I was in my room, not even stopping to say hello to Dad. I flopped onto my bed, feeling a confused jumble of emotions inside myself. What was I feeling? Fear, confusion… relief? That kiss, it was so passionate, it was...it almost felt…what was the word to describe it…it felt…_right_, somehow, as if it was meant for the pharaoh and me alone.

But was it? I had never really established my feelings for Yami. Sure, I blushed every time he looked at me or talked directly to me, but did I really _love_ him?

As if right on cue, my vision suddenly blurred, and I was seeing through the eyes of another…

_The pharaoh and I stood together on the balcony that protruded from his bedroom, surveying my lord's kingdom as the sun set. His right hand and my left were intertwined, a silent bond of loyalty between us._

_His kingdom was so beautiful…but how long would it last?_

"_My pharaoh," I murmured, and he answered by squeezing my hand and pressing his lips to my throat. "What will we do about the dark intruder that threatens Egypt?"_

_He didn't answer right away, as his lips were somewhat occupied. When he brought his lips away he answered, "I shall confront him, and drive him out of this kingdom, so that you may live in peace forever."_

"_For _me_? What about your people?" I pulled away from him, suddenly angered. "You should be protecting Egypt for _their_ sake, not mine!"_

"_And so I shall," he answered, trying to defend himself, "but it for you that I shall fight. Your love will sustain me more than the blood in my veins, your voice will be the lifeline I hang to if I fall."_

"_And if you fall?" I asked, my voice almost a whisper. I walked to him and he put his arms around me protectively. "What will become of your people? They need you, and if you die, what will become of them?"_

"_I know what you ask." His arms tightened. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself for my sake, Sarana."_

"_Better to sacrifice a mere servant for the people," I murmured," than to sacrifice the pharaoh for the sake of a servant."_

_His arms wouldn't loosen. "_No_."_

"_All right then," I said, managing to free myself once again. "Go kill yourself selfishly for me." I stalked off, too angry to say anymore. He called my name, but I didn't look back. If he wanted to die so that I could live, then fine by me. He was the pharaoh, and his word was law._

_I stopped. I really was being stupid. The pharaoh may be pigheaded sometimes, but he really did care about his people. However, he needed to learn to put them ahead of what _he_ wanted._

_I did a 180 and started walking. I wasn't returning to my king, I was walking to the stables. My horse had a long journey to make, and I had a life to sacrifice for my country._

I gasped as I came out of the flashback, my eyes stinging with unshed tears.

Was that another vision? What was happening? I was so confused! What did all this mean?

And then the answer hit me, as I crawled into bed.

Five thousand years ago, the pharaoh's servant had loved him so much that she had sacrificed her life for his sake. Now I felt that I had truly inherited Sarana's legacy.

Yes, I loved the nameless pharaoh.

**Unfortunately it will be some time before I finished the next chapter. In case you hand't noticed I had written out up to this point before posting, and I'm in the middle of chapter 10. Just sit patiently and it will come sometime before the end of the world. I hope you have enjoyed Dusk thus far and will continue to read it when I update! And please review!**


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